Sister of Darkness
by Abnormal Trio
Summary: When the nightmare king returned, the guardians once again must rise and defeat the darkness that was threatening the earth. But this time, Man in the Moon had appointed someone to help them, someone he trusted most and someone who knew Pitch more than anyone else. Why? Because that someone was daughter of the moon, and sister of darkness. (Modern AU, slight Jelsa) EDITING!
1. Introduction: Brother and Sister

Brother and Sister

A lone, hooded figure stood atop the building, vigilant eyes scanning the city below them in search of something in the dead of the night as their dark cloak snapped around their form in the whipping winter wind. The moon shone over them, full and bright like a giant, precious pearl nestling between the embrace of the dark clouds.

Suddenly, a shadow ran past them as fast as a flying arrow. As their eyes caught its sight, the person quickly followed, leaping from rooftop to rooftop with such blinding speed that human could hardly be capable of. The chase continued, the two of them threading their ways through the empty streets until they'd reached the woods in the outskirts of the city.

The person stopped, their hood falling down their shoulders to reveal it was a girl seemingly in her late teens with long platinum blonde hair framing her face, her skin as pale as the moon shimmering above her, blue eyes as cold as ice piercing into the darkness of the woods surrounding her

The ruslting sound of the leaves and the snapping of branches caused the girl to startle and whip her head around. Her hand, slowly and cautiously, crept toward the hilt of the dagger strapped at her hip, cerulean blue eyes becoming more and more wary as they darted around, searching for the source of the sound. As she shifted her gaze to the right, a sharp gasp escaped her lips as she saw a pair of terrifying scarlet eyes staring back at her firmly. The figure carrying those eyes slowly emerged from the shadows, revealing it to be the gruesome figure of a horse completely created by black sand.

The girl drew her dagger, holding it tightly in her hand and slowly took several steps back. But other sounds came from behind, causing her to turn around, only to be met with other horses the same as the first one also striding out of the darkness, their vividly red eyes glaring at her intensely. She glanced to her left and right, eyes widening as she saw more of those terrifying creatures approaching her. She was trapped.

The leading horse growled, and all of a sudden, every one of them was lunging toward the lone girl. She tossed the dagger to one side; it cut through several horses, turning them into nothing but heaps of useless black sand and plunged into the trunk of a tree nearby. More rushed toward her. She quickly thrust her arms outwards and blasts of ice immediately shot out of her palms, coating the horses as they hit them then crushed them back into powder. But the more horses she took down, more continued to charge at her. However, the girl was determined to not let any of those evil, disgusting creatures near her. She continued to hold them back with her magic, blasting streams of her icy power toward her target and turning them into what they should have been – dust.

Stretching an arm to the direction where her dagger had went, she summoned the wind, and the blade followed the gust to fly back to her outstretched hand. She grabbed it then threw it once more. The dagger flew in the air, killing a few horses as it went then disappeared into the darkness of the woods.

But this time, when she summoned it, it did not return. And the horses suddenly stopped attacking her, but remained surrounding her in a circle, keeping her in place. There was no way out for her.

The dark animals slowly parted to make a path, and a tall, skinny man in black robe stepped out of the shadows, with grey and deadly skin and spiky hair that was as dark as the night sky. In one of his hands was her dagger, which was being inspected by his grim amber eyes. He was wearing a grin across his lips, and she was disgusted by it.

"Oh, Elsa, Elsa, I'm surprised that up until now, you are still playing with this little toothpick," he said, tracing the tips of his nails along her blade, creating terrible, unpleasant hissing sounds as his eyes glancing up to meet hers.

"If you are so displeased with my little 'toothpick', then why don't you give it back, _Pitch_? It's not nice stealing from your sister, you know," Elsa arched an eyebrow, her eyes staring back at him with coldness and despisal.

"Well, of course. As an older brother, I would know that," he smirked then threw the darkness to his right, the blade plunging deep into a tree up until its hilt. "But," he turned his attention back toward her, "I've never been a nice older brother. I see that you've been playing around with my pets again, little sister. You're still as weak and pathetic as always."

He stepped into the ring created by his horses then snapped his fingers for them to disappear. He still wore the very same grin on his ugly face, but she was sure that his eyes held the same hatred and disgust her own bore.

"Don't be so cold and frigid, Elsa. This is our first family reunion after a whole decade, you should be happy!"

"Of course, why should I not? I am absolutely thrilled to hear that my dear, _dear_ older brother had just been defeated five years ago by a bunch of stupid, ridiculous immortals our father happened to have chosen to be guardians," Elsa replied sarcastically, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "So, do tell me, my _brother_, how did those pathetic fools manage to kick your butt?"

"I was not defeated!" Pitch suddenly roared. "I have never been and will never be, especially by the hands of those _goddamn_ guardians!"

"Oh, right, now I remember. They didn't kick your butt – they chased you away into a hole in the ground like a little rat!" Elsa spat, trying her best to restrain the smirk that was tugging at her corners of her lips.

"I'm glad to see that the brat of my sister hasn't changed for the past ten years," Pitch deadpanned.

"Oh, look at us two," she said dramatically, "Brother and sister's bonding time! How proud Father would be to see us getting along so well like this! The only things we do are fighting against each other, physically and verbally. What a happy family we are!"

"I never liked you, little brat, ever since the day you were born into this world. You're nothing but a weak and pathetic girl, a shame to our family – a worthless _half_-immortal, a _murderer_! Yet you've always been daddy's favourite girl, his _precious_ little daughter," Pitch hissed at her. Elsa glared at her brother with hatred, her icy blue eyes burning with anger and tears. She was ready to lash out and kill him right now, right this second. But, despite being the monster he was, Pitch was still her brother, her own flesh and blood, she could not bring herself to hate or have the heart to kill him. And it wasn't like she could anyway. He was an immortal. No one could kill him.

Pitch knew that he'd hit a nerve; it had always worked. A sly, satisfied grin started to crawl across his lips once again. This time, however, it contained such evil that made Elsa shiver, though she tried her best not to show it.

"However," he said, grinning, taking another step toward her, his gaze still bore into her, "We are still brother and sister – we do share the same father, after all. Besides, we do have one thing in common, and that is our dislike toward the guardians."

"Oh, boy, here goes the lecture," Elsa rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. "I know what you're going to say, 'Join me, Elsa. Join my side and we can rule this world together in the age of darkness and ice, where everyone shall fear us.' Have you not been trying to persuade me on your side for the past one hundred and ninety-three years, Pitch? And has your endeavour for once succeeded?"

"It never hurts to try. The first step is always the hardest, but it doesn't mean we can't get through it," Pitch shrugged.

"Face up to it, Pitch," she spat. "You can't even get through the first step, so how are you going to manage through the whole plan? Do tell me, brother. I'm curious to hear how you will terribly fail and fall flat on your face, because apparently I've already missed the last time. Boy, it must have been hilarious. I could use some laugh sometimes. It does help clearing my mind."

"Why don't you think about it, Elsa? For two hundred years, what have you been doing? Living amongst those low mortals just to indulge your curiosity into their pathetic, dirty society and neglecting the duties and ethereal powers trusted to you by our father?"

"You will not speak of humans in such way!" Elsa gritted her teeth, her eyes flaring with anger, frost already crawling under her skin. "Let me remind you that I also carry their blood in my veins, that I, too, am a human. I've been living amongst them and have taken time to understand them, and I can tell that they are countless times worthier than you!"

"You are too naïve, Elsa, too naïve to actually understand how evil humans are. And you are wasting your talents just because of these low creatures! You may have human blood in you, but you are also an immortal. You are much stronger and more powerful than every single one of them. You should be above them! Join me, sister. Together, we can do many things – great things – for this world."

"All you do is making this world become rotten and collapse!" Elsa exploded, unable to contain her anger any longer. Ice shot everywhere from her, hitting the trees surrounding them and turning them into solid ice. "For the past one hundred and fifty years, all I did was to keep that from happening, to protect this world from your dirty hands!"

"And you are doing the wrong thing! Join me, Elsa. You're powerful; we're powerful. You can do great things!"

"I can do great things? Do you really think I will fall for your dirty lies? What did you just call me earlier – weak and pathetic? After all, I am nothing but a shame to our family, am I not? Why would you need me anyway? And if I agreed to join you, when you've got what you want, you won't hesitate to cast me aside like trash and garbage, or even kill me."

"You are my little sister. Why would I kill you? I love you, Elsa, that's why I'm trying to help you!"

"Liar!" the ice wielder shouted, fists clenched by her sides until her knuckles went white. Snow began to fall as the wind picked up and swirled around them vigorously. "All the words you've said are simply dirty lies that come from your filthy mouth! You've never loved me – you've said so yourself. From the day I was born into this world, you have all but loved me. In your eyes, I have always been nothing but a low and pathetic human who doesn't deserve to share the privileges of immortals, a stain in our family. So don't you dare use those words to me! And you know what, _brother_? I work alone – period!"

"You foolish, foolish girl!" the boogeyman roared. "Why wouldn't you just stop being so _damn_ stubborn and begin to see sense?" Pitch growled angrily. "You know that we both hate those guardians, we both want to see them perish. The chance is right in front of you yet you choose to ignore it!"

"That is because I am not like you, Pitch!" Elsa exclaimed. The snow around them suddenly stopped and the wind halted. The girl shook her head slowly, backing away from him, sapphire blue eyes shining with tears.

"I'm not like you," she repeated in a hushed tone.

Pitch glared at her and straightened his back. "No, Elsa. You are just like me. We are more similar than you thought. You just don't want to see it."

Dark sand began to rise and form around his feet, slowly creeping upwards to conceal half his body as the wind around them picked up.

"You still have a chance, Elsa. Join me, and we can rule the world together, as a family. Stand against me, and darkness will not let you escape. It's your choice, Elsa, but I'd advise that you chose wisely," the boogeyman snarled at her, his amber eyes flaring with hatred and anger. "Goodbye, Elsa."

Strong wind howled and whipped against them as columns of black sands rose from the ground around them under Pitch's command. Elsa raised her arms and clenched her eyelids shut to brace herself, summoning her own magic to protect herself from her brother's. She risked opening an eye and the only thing she could see was a storm of darkness and shadows swirling around her vigorously, as if it was about to swallow the girl up. Finally, when it ended, she slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Pitch had gone, and the area around her left no sign or ruins of his or her magic from earlier. Elsa stood frozen in place, still recovering from the shock from earlier, her eyes widened in fear.

It didn't come to her as a surprise, nor did it scare her to see her brother vanishing into the air in a blink of an eye along with his sand storm. It was just typical of him, because after all, he was a boogeyman. But that wasn't what Elsa feared – it was his last words that haunted her. She knew he was up to something, and when it was Pitch that had been up to something, it surely was no good. And this time, she knew what – or rather who – his target would be.

Elsa immediately reached into the collar of her light grey shirt for the silver necklace with a crescent moon pendant hung on it and called for someone she confided in most for an advice – her father.

The pendant glowed in response almost instantly, and she looked up at the moon, which seemed to shimmer much brighter than before.

_My daughter, _she heard a familiar warm and deep voice ringing in her ear, speaking with such love and adoration she could never grow tired of or have enough of hearing. _From high above, I hear your call. How may I help you, my child? I can sense something is troubling you._

"Indeed something is, Father or rather someone," she replied. "I fear that my brother is up to no good, for he again has come and threatened me to join his side once more. I, of course, as usual, have declined his offer, but this time, I feel that whatever he plans to bring to our world will only cause nothing but death and destruction."

_I, too, have felt it, _the moon said in agreement. _He will return, very soon, and he will bring back darkness with him. Do not underestimate him, my daughter, and be wary of the darkness, for this time it will be multiple times much stronger than before._

"What must I do then, Father?"

_Travel to the North Pole – their base – and warn them about Pitch's return. His target will be vengeance upon them._

"Father, you may rest assured that I, myself, will take care of Pitch for you this time. There is no need to call for the guardians," Elsa said firmly, trying her best to sound polite when she mentioned the guardians.

She heard the moon chuckled. He knew his daughter too well. _I know that you're not very fond of them, princess, but without their assistancce, you will never succeed, and unless you help, Pitch can never be defeated._

Elsa's eyes widened in shock as a gasp of panic rolled out her lips. She shook her head vigorously in refusal. "No, Father, I cannot accept this! Even though Pitch is evil, he is still my brother nonetheless! I will not join his side, but I cannot stand against him – not like this!"

_But will you choose to stand aside and watch the world around you being consumed by darkness – the world you have worked so hard to protect? Your brother must be stopped, Elsa, and it is up to _you_ to do it, _the moon said firmly.

Elsa frowned and bowed her head, her brows furrowing pensively.

_I know it is a hard choice for you to make, but it must be done. The fate of the Earth and the safety of people living on it are paramount, for it is our duty to guard and protect them._

Elsa closed her eyes for a brief moment then sighed heavily, before looking up at the moon once again. "I understand, Father. I will do as you ask," she said, and she could feel her beloved father smiling at her lovingly.

_That's my little princess. You are so much like your mother, you know that, Elsa? So brave and strong, yet kind and caring, _he said softly to her. _She would be very proud of you. Now go, hurry! The guardians must be alarmed. Time doesn't wait for anybody!_

Elsa nodded, smiling at the moon above her, and without another said word, she summoned her magic. A surge of power swirled around her, enveloping the whole of the girl's slender form. The trees surrounding her swayed in the strong wind and snow from the ground rose to fly around her until it had covered up her entire body. Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light, and the winds died down, but the daughter of the moon had disappeared from sight.


	2. Chapter One: The Messenger

Jack Frost, the Guardian of Winter, was gliding through the air with a broad grin tugging at his lips, enjoying the feel of the cold winter wind snapping against his face and ruffling his hair. Strings of laughter escaped him as he flew in circle in the sky, soaring in the thin like an arrow. Winter had only just begun, and oh, he loved the feel of it already. It wasn't freezing, but the cold was enough to give people a nip as a sign of the season's arrival. The air was crisp and brought a wonderful wintery scent to his nose. Snow had coated the ground with a thin layer of pure white, clinging onto branches and leaves. It wasn't very thick, but it was enough to have a fun snowball fight with your friends, and that was exactly what the mischievous and playful guardian had just done.

Five years had passed since the defeat of Pitch Black; everything had been going peacefully for the guardians since then. No boogeyman to mess up with children's dreams, darken the sky or ruin the happiness of this world – everything seemed perfect. And Jack loved it. He loved his new job, too. Sure, protecting the children wasn't the easiest thing to do, and he could get pretty busy when winter came, but being the bringer of winter, to him, was the greatest pleasure of his life, for it had long become his nature, a part of him that could never be replaced. Besides, it was fun, and even when winter had ended, he wouldn't be alone anymore. He had friends now – friends who loved and believed in him, and would never leave his side, no matter what.

He had just visited Jamie and his friends. The boy had grown so much for the past five years, but the playfulness had not yet left him. They had become great friends since then, and they still were. Every now and then, Jack would come and pay him and the others a little visit, to play a small game in the snow and have some childhood fun, or simply just for a talk and some bonding time. Jack was playful, yes – it was his nature – but, having lived in this world for three hundred years, he could be considered wise and reliable, and the children often sought advice in him whenever they felt lost. And of course, being a guardian of children, and after all, his duty was to look after them, he always offered his help.

This time was one of the times like that – no, it had been _way_ harder than other times, something even the winter guardian himself had never experienced in his immortal life. Jack had made his way to Burgess, expecting to see a Jamie looking at him with happy, beckoning brown eyes and a childish grin, but instead he found a crestfallen and frustrated fifteen-year-old sitting at the window with hunched shoulders. When Jack asked the boy what had happened, it turned out that the girl he liked at school had turned him down, rather harshly actually, when he confessed his feelings to her. And poor Jack had to find a way to wipe that lovelorn Jamie Bennette away and bring happy, playful Jamie back. It took a while, with some snowballs and old friends, but it did the trick.

Jack had stayed with the children – no, the teenagers – for about another half and hour or so before departing once again. A sad thought suddenly crossed his mind that made his face crease in a frown.

The children he'd got to know for the past five years were all growing up.

His work for the day had been done, leaving Jack with nothing more to do, and he began thinking about what had came to him. True, they had grown up and become less playful and childish than five years ago, which saddened him a little, but he was also happy, happy that they had grown into wonderful teenagers, and on their way to being great young adults. But soon, like a blink of an eye, they would no longer be little children running up to him and giggling excitedly upon seeing him, but fully grown and responsible adults pursuing their dreams and ambitions or building a family of their own. The thought saddened him, but Jack reassured himself that they would become kind and good people for this world. It was natural for humans to grow... and die.

Jack shook his head, mentally scolding himself for his stupidity. It was no time to think of such things. Children couldn't be children forever; he had to let them go, let them grow up and face the wonderful world laid before them, to live the lives that were beckoning for them. Besides, it wasn't like they would stop believing in him when they'd grown. And he would never be alone. He knew that, because he would always have his friends.

Speaking of whom, Jack's thought wandered back to his group, wondering what they were up to at the mean time. He playfully rested his staff on his shoulder and tucked a hand in his pocket while still floating in midair. It had been a few months since he paid Bunny's warren a visit. It would be fun to mess up on Bunny again. He never grew tired of that.

Just before he was about to head for Australia, a strong gust of wind came swirling around him, trapping him in place. And it was freezing cold; he could feel the coldness biting into his skin and chilling him to the core. That made no sense! He was a spirit of winter, he never felt cold, and he controlled winds. Yet this time, wind was not only disobeying him, but also controlling him.

"What the- Hey!" Jack shouted in surprise as it began dragging him away. He struggled to get out, but it only made the wind strengthen its already strong grip that it almost crushed him.

"Let me go!" he grunted, trying to wiggle out of it once more, but suddenly his arms were bent and trapped to his back violently, and the wind began pulling him away by his wrists.

"Hey, where are you taking me! Wind, stop!" he commanded, but it did not listen. Instead, it sped up and dragged him away in a blinding speed. Just before the guardian opened his mouth to argue, a flash of light suddenly tore the air in front of them apart to reveal a portal, and he was immediately thrown into it.

* * *

North, the guardian of wonder and also leader of the guardians, whistled merrily to himself as he and his assistants – the yetis – worked with the presents for children all over the world. It was only the beginning of winter, but Christmas would come faster than they thought, so they'd better get started.

He walked through the halls of his workshop, inspecting the works of the yetis, nodding with satisfaction as he saw that the toys were being made correctly and the presents were being wrapped neatly, yelling at the huge, hairy beasts when they did something wrong. It was strange to see such two opposite personalities existing in one same person, but, well, North was just like that.

When he reached the globe room to have a look at the globe, which was still full of glittering golden lights, three portals suddenly appeared before him, and his fellow guardians, Tooth and Bunny, stumbled out of them and landed on the ground harshly with a loud thud, while Sandy rolled out of his portal like a ball.

"Tooth, Bunny?" the large man stared at them, eyes wide in surprise.

Sandy was the first one to manage to stand. Bunny grunted and rose from the ground, muttering a few curses under his breath while rubbing his head, then helped Tooth up, which she returned with a weak smile and a quiet thank. Obviously she was still recovering from the fall earlier. That was going to leave a nasty bruise on her arm – if she could bruise at all.

"Oy, mate," Bunny turned to North with an angry glare, "Is it really necessary to toss us into a portal without a warning? You could always send the Northern Lights to alarm us or tell the yetis to fetch us, no need to throw us into a hole in the air like a rucksack!"

Sandy, who seemed to know about what was going on, shook his head in denial and tried to tell Bunny something by conjuring up images by golden sand, but no one noticed the poor little guy.

"What are you talking about, Bunny?" North raised his eyes brows in shock, completely confused of what the Easter Bunny was rambling about. "What happened?"

Sandy was about to speak, but Tooth beat him to it.

"I think we should be the one asking the question," she flared in anger. "I have to collect teeth, you know? There are millions, billions of children out there! I don't have the luxury to sit back and enjoy for the whole year only to be busy for one day!" She suddenly paused and cleared her throat, realising that she'd lost her temper. "What Bunny and I meant was we were wondering why you sent us here so urgently and so... well, suddenly. Normally, you would just give us a signal to summon us."

Sandy slapped his forehead with his palm and sighed in defeat.

"What? No, no, I didn't summon you!" North shook his head. "What on earth are you two rambling about? I've got work to do; it's almost Christmas. Is this some kind of a joke?"

Suddenly, there was a rip in the air above them and a screaming Jack fell out of it. He was tossed to a column, hiting his head, and fell onto the ground hard on his back, his staff being throwned to the side.

"What the hell?!" the winter guardian groaned and attempted to stand up, but failed miserably. Tooth gasped. She and Sandy immediately rushed to his side to aid their friend. Jack grunted in pain and muttered thanks to them. Once he had managed to straighten himself up and retrieved his staff, Jack leaned one of his sides against the column where he'd hit and panted heavily.

"What the hell, North?" he exclaimed, obviously angry. "What is all this 'commanding the wind to betray on its own master and throwing your friend into the portal' about? Ow, my back! Damn it, Nicholas St. North, why couldn't you just give me a simple sign? I have eyes, you know!"

"What is everybody talking about?" North growled frustratedly. "Why are you all here? I didn't call any of you! Don't you have your own work to do?"

Sandy was creating images above his head again, desperate to gain his friends' attention, but his efforts were vain.

"Wait, hang on a second – what?" Bunny interrupted, waving his hand and unintentionally dissipating Sandy's images, causing the other guardian to groan in frustration. "What do you mean you didn't call for us?"

"I meant I did not call of any single one of you!" North yelled.

"So who did?" Tooth asked.

And as she had just finished her question, the temperature in the workshop suddenly dropped dramatically. Frost began to form and cover all the floors before it started crawling up the walls and columns, coating every inch of the place in a sheer layer of ice. Every single object was perfectly and completely frozen just in a matter of minutes.

"This isn't me," Jack muttered, his brows furrowing in confusion and stun.

"What is this?" North frowned. His eyes flew wide and a sharp gasp of shock escaped him as realisation dawned on him. "It cannot be."

"Oh North, is it really what I think it is?" Tooth said, as much astonished as the guardian of wonder was.

"Oh, no," Bunny's jaw dropped as he saw a blizzard forming just above the globe.

"What's going on?" Jack asked warily, gripping the wooden staff tightly in his hands as he braced himself for what might be to come. He had no idea what was happening, but he assumed that it was no good, as it was clearly written on the other guardians' faces – they were all afraid of whatever that brought this strange occurrence.

Jack saw the familiar flash of light appear at the heart of the storm. Then it died down, as fast as it came. The temperature in the room quickly crawled back to its normal state within seconds. Every speck of ice and snow in the whole workshop vanished into the air, leaving no sign of what happened, which made him extremely shock. He could control ice and snow at his will easily as breathing itself, but never before had he managed to undo his own magic.

He looked around, and eyes flew wide open as he saw the figure of someone standing – or rather floating – atop the giant globe in the center of the chamber. It was a girl, looking no older than him, perhaps even a year of two younger – in appearance, of course – with a slender and petite form. She dressed in an old-fashioned outfit, which consisted of a silver-coloured shirt with sleeves rolled up past her elbows under a storm grey vest, a pair of black breeches that travelled all the way down her long, slender legs until they were tucked carefully into her boots. A dagger was strapped to her belt at her left hip. A silver necklace hung loosely around her neck, with the pendant of a tiny snowflake resting in the crook of the crescent nestling on her chest.

Jack felt himself gaping at her. She was incomparably beautiful, and though in men's clothing, she still appeared as radiant as the glow of the full winter moon. Her alabaster skin looked as though it had been blessed by snow itself; her platinum blonde hair was as smooth as the finest silk in the world, framing her divine face and flowing down her back until her slender waist in cascading waves, and the lush colour that graced her lips could have brought all the roses on this earth to shame. But her eyes were a complete contrast to the beauty that could be compared to the sun of hers – they were blue and deep as the heart of the ocean, sparkling like the stars that reign the sky, but cold and frigid like a bitter bite of the winter wind.

A smirk cracked at the girl's lips as she looked down upon the group of guardians below her, but it never reached her eyes.

"Hello, everyone," she greeted with a voice Jack thought would be angelic if it didn't bear such bitterness and disgust. "Miss me?"

"Hello, Elsa. It's been a while," North replied while trying his best to sound polite and not snarl at the girl.

"Indeed it has," Elsa grinned. "How long has it been, three decades, or even more? I can't remember. And if I recall correctly, _SantaClaus_," she sneered, "you look just as awful as you were thirty years ago. You didn't loose any pound, did you? Do tell me. How did you manage to slide through all those narrowed chimneys? I'm surprised that they hadn't crushed you."

Jack cringed. This girl looked to be cold, but she did have some fire in her. Who was she? How come that the guardians knew about her but he did not? Why did they never tell her about this particular Elsa? She didn't seem to favour the guardians, and they didn't seem to be very fond of her. This made Jack wonder if she was a friend or a foe, and he was even more curios of who this girl might be.

North didn't answer the girl. Instead he gritted his teeth and glared at Elsa in anger. The girl must have noticed it, and she smiled triumphantly before shifting her eyes toward Tooth.

"Ah, Toothiana, my dear," she said with a sweet tone that was no doubt entirely faked. "Still flying about and collecting teeth? Why don't you just try to suck out memories from children's brains instead of collecting their garbages? You are putting yourself so lowly, you know that?"

Tooth, too, remained silent and tried to show no anger, but it seemed to even please the girl more. She chuckled and turned to Bunny, who was already scowling and growling at her.

"You've left us in peace for the past thirty-two years, so why dragging your ass back here to disgrace this place with your presence once more? Why don't you return to whatever filthy holes you've been hiding and get out of our sight?" he spat angrily.

"Temper, temper," she shook her head, smirking at him. "There's no need to bark; you know that I am no stranger. And trying to get rid of me so easily? That's no way to treat your superior, you know? I'm disappointed that I am not welcomed properly this time I return." Her eyes turned to Sandy, and a warm smile – a real smile – broke out her lips.

"Ah, Sandy," she beamed. "Hello, my old friend. It's been quite a while. I would be lying if I said I hadn't been missing your presence at the Grand Library and all the games of chess we'd shared. I trust that you have been doing well?"

Sandy smiled softly at her and bowed respectfully to the girl, which she kindly returned with a swift but polite nod of her head. Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise at this. Of all the guardians, she only seemed to favour the guardian of dreams, even respect him. This girl was downright sassy and arrogant. And here Jack thought he was the worst.

"What do you want with us this time, Elsa? Was it you who dragged all of us here?" Tooth demanded.

"If not me, then who else could have done it?" Elsa shrugged, her smirk growing wider. "Did you enjoy your trip?"

"Enjoy?!" Bunny practically shouted. "How could we possibly enjoy ourselves when we were roughly tossed into a portal like a sack of potatoes? That was abduction! You'd better have a good reason for kidnapping us and dragging us all the way here to the pole, _princess_!"

"Wait, princess?" Jack asked, but he was completely ignored.

"Indeed I have, and you should listen to it carefully," Elsa said as she straightened herself, her expression suddenly becoming stoic and serious, head held high and proud. "I summoned you all here on behalf of Tsar Lunar, the Man in the Moon, King of the Stars, Emperor of the Galaxy, to inform you of an important matter, and to warn you of an upcoming danger." Jack frowned in both surprise and confusion – he had no idea Manny held so many titles, and he was confused why Manny did not inform them himself like he always did, but instead sent this rude, brash girl here to do so.

"The Lord of Darkness has returned," Elsa announced gravely.

Shocked gasps escaped people in the room. The elves cowered in fear and the yetis recoiled. The guardians glanced at each other, fear written on their eyes. Jack cocked an eyebrow.

"The Lord of Darkness?" he asked curiously.

"It's Pitch's proper title," Tooth explained to him in a whispering voice.

"Tsar Lunar has instructed strictly that you five must be prepared, for you will again have to stand against the Lord of Darkness. But beware, for this time he has strengthened himself, and the battle approaching us will not be easy," Elsa continued, her tone strict and formal. Jack wondered why she kept addressing Manny as Tsar Lunar.

"As long as we have each other and hope, we can defeat anything!" Bunny confidently said. "We've defeated Pitch once. We can do it again."

"Pitch has never been actually defeated; you simply managed to chase him away temporarily and force him to stay quiet for a short time," Elsa countered. "And now he has returned, seeking vengeance upon those who had won over him and once again plotting to create a world of eternal darkness."

She held her head high and inhaled a deep breah. "This time, when the Lord of Darkness strikes," the girl breathed a heavy sigh, "I will stand by you guardians and fight alongside you against him."

"What?" Bunny wondered aloud, quirking his eyebrows and narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her. He suddenly roared in laughter. "_You_ are joining us?" the Easter Bunny smirked up at the platinum blonde haired girl. "I think I might very well have misheard you. You are no longer that coward, then? So, after nearly a hundred and fifty years, you've finally managed to crawl out of your shell and face up to your responsibility? Or was it your dear old daddy who has succeeded in convincing his little spoiled brat to grow up?" Bunny sneered.

"Watch your tonge, Edward Aster Bunnymund!" Elsa seethed, her teeth gritted in anger and frost crawling at her fingertips. "Do not think that I am merely a bystander who would contentedly sit still and watch the world I have striven so hard to protect sink into darkness, or a puppet for my father and the court to pull the strings whenever want to. Believe me when I say that I would rather commit suicide than work alongside you scums and idiots, but unfortunately, the situation left me no choice."

"Really now, Elsa?" the guardian of hope continued to question her. "I thought you'd never stand against Pitch?"

"This has nothing to do with Tsar Lunar or the Shadow Lord. It is not an easy decision to make, but it is my decision. I cannot, and will not stand by when all humanity are in grave danger. I do not wish to stand against him. I had hoped that this day would never come, but at times like this, I need to push aside my own feelings and do what is right for the sakes of all."

"But how do we know that you are not an ally of the boogeyman?" Jack blurted out, and he regretted dearly the moment the words left his mouth as he saw the shocked, frightened looks his friends tossed at his side and the cold glare of her piercing into him like the blade of a knife.

"So this is the newest member His Majesty has chosen to add to this group?" she inquired, her voice sending chills down his spine. "I have heard about you, Jackson Overland – or should I call Jack Frost now. Honestly, I've expected you to be more... respectful. Do you know, _Frost_, that it is _very_ rude to interrupt people when they are speaking?"

All of a sudden, he was lifted off the ground by the wind, a shocked gasp escaping him. He attempted to struggle, but found out that he could not move.

"Elsa, no," North said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible, holding his hands out toward her. "Drop the boy down, Elsa. He has done nothing wrong."

A wicked smirk crawled on her lips. "As you wish," she shrugged, waving her hand. Jack was instantly released, but unfortunately, he was thrown backwards roughly into the wall behind him.

"Elsa Maria Lunanoff!" North scolded, like a father would his child.

"What?" Elsa smiled innocently and shrugged. "I dropped him, just like you asked."

"I did not mean literally!" he angrily shouted. "You will need to work on that attitude of yours, young lady!"

"Oh, dear. What a terrible person I am! Do forgive me, North, for being in such a sour mood after having a fight with my brother," she replied brashly before flashing a glance to see Jack, who had managed to push himself onto his feet once again, with a little help from the yeti nearby.

Elsa once again addressed the guardians. "There still are a few matters I need to attend to, and I must speak to the court to inform them of this situation. I will return within the matter of three days. I will try my best to acquire more information about whatever the Shadow Lord is scheming. During the time I'm gone, prepare yourselves for the battle, because, like what I have told you before, it wouldn't be an easy one."

Wind began to rise and whipped in the air, her long, snow white hair fluttered in the strong gust. Everyone had to brace themselves in order not to be blown up. Snow that came out of nowhere crept up her legs and swirled around her until it had concealed her entire body. The same flash of blue light appeared, and when it vanished, everything was gone, including the girl with ice cold eyes.


	3. Chapter Two: Elsa

Elsa

"Who was she?" Jack inquired, eyes darting back and forth at his friends, searching for an answer.

North sighed and rubbed his forehead with his large hand, trying to erase the creased frown on it. "That, Jack, was Elsa Marian Nova Lunanoff, Guardian of Wisdom and Peace, formerly Commander of the Galaxy, Member of the Ethereal Court, and…" he pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes glancing up to meet Jack's, "Daughter of the Moon."

"Wait, Daughter of the Moon – as in the Manny, the Man in the Moon? You mean she's Manny's daughter? And she has powers like me?" the guardian winter asked. And he felt his jaw hitting the ground beneath him as his fellow guardians hesitantly nodded, confirming his suspicions.

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true," Tooth spoke up. Sandy nodded in agreement. "Elsa _is_ Manny's biological daughter. And yes, Jack, immortals are capable of having children. Elsa was born with abilities to wield winter elements, and as she grew older, her telekinesis and telepathy started to develop."

"Although we hate to admit it, because of her father's status, that makes her Princess of the Galaxy, meaning she's our superior," Bunny snorted.

"That must have hurt," Jack chuckled. He suddenly frowned. "You said she's the guardian of Wisdom and Peace. That's a little ironic, don't you think? Wait. That means she's one of us? She looks like she… well, she loathes you guys."

"Yes, and no," North answered hesitantly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "The title is to be given to her, but she never accepted it. Elsa doesn't want the job – she never did. Although I doubt anyone could be more qualified for it than her. She's the Keeper of the Chamber of Knowledge itself – the Grand Library of the whole universe – and also a crucial member of the Ethereal Court, a group of high immortals that are leaders of this galaxy, which is led by Manny. But she hasn't been attending the court for a couple of years, actually. I don't know why, though. And yes, you would be correct to say that. Elsa's, well, she's not very fond of us. We don't really see eye to eye."

"Mate, that is a huge understatement – she hates us," Bunny stated bluntly.

"Why is that? Aren't you, like, her father's greatest assistants?" Jack cocked his head to a side.

"Well, let's just say that we don't have a very good history with Her Highness," North said, unease clear in his voice.

Jack snorted, "I expected something like that."

"Don't underestimate Elsa, Jack. There is much more to her than to the eye," North said. "I can't say that I adore the girl. However I can't say that I don't respect her, either. Her position at the Ethereal Court didn't just fall into her hand, Jack. She had striven hard to achieve that seat, and it wasn't an easy thing to do. Elsa is the youngest person who has ever been accepted into the court – she was only thirty-six when she became one of them."

"I thought as the king's daughter, she would be given that luxury?"

"Oh, no, Jack. She may be Manny's favourite daughter, but that doesn't mean he would grant her everything she wants. The Ethereal Court wasn't a child's play, Jack. You have to prove yourself worthy enough to become a member of it," Bunny said with a slight smirk.

"Manny didn't choose Elsa to help us for no reason, Jack," North said. "No one knows Pitch as well as she does, and she has the most experience in facing him. Besides, he fears her. Elsa is extremely powerful, much more than all of us combined. She was born with the power, so it grows as she ages. And to us immortals, she is still very young."

"You mean she has fought Pitch before?"

"No," Tooth shook her head. "Elsa never once stood against Pitch. But she knows him very well – she knows his moves and all his tricks. Because…" the guardian of memories bit her bottom lip nervously, "Pitch is her brother."

Jack was silent – deadly silent, his eyes wide and mouth agape. He was at a complete loss of words. It wasn't until a few moments later that he was able to once again clear his thoughts.

"Pitch is Manny's son?" he managed to ask in a quiet voice. Sandy nodded to him.

"Not biologically, but nonetheless, he was still his son," Tooth said. "Pitch was a creation of Manny, while Elsa was his flesh and blood. It wasn't Manny's first intention to create a creature of darkness – he made a mistake during the procedure, and thus was born Pitch Black."

"Manny doesn't want Elsa near Pitch, for fearing his darkness will take over her nature, so he kept Pitch as a secret from her. But secrets don't last forever," Bunny said. "When Elsa turned eighty-four, eighty-five or something, she met Pitch, just coincidently. They became very close, as close as siblings can be, but it was merely Pitch's plan to get Elsa on his side. And when she discovered that he was her brother, she was mad at her father, and came to her brother. I swear; that girl has quite a temper." A chuckle escaped him.

"Anyway, yes, she ran away to Pitch. But when he started convincing her to join his side, and revealing his plan to her, she understood that she had been tricked," Bunny continued. "You may be able to guess how she reacted next. The girl nearly blew up his lair and nearly cast an eternal winter over the land."

"But she spared him," North said. "Elsa and Pitch have never been in good terms with each other since then. Often there would be meetings between them, with the two provoking and verbally assaulting one another. They do fight, but there is a strange thing is that they have never been fighting… directly. Pitch would send his dark horses to attack Elsa, and she, in turn, would deliver to his place 'gifts' of her own, each time a different one."

"Yeah," Bunny snorted. "They've been on each other's toes for like more than a century and a half now."

"A century and a half, you say. So how old exactly is this girl? Is she an immortal like us?" the winter guardian asked.

"I think she's around two hundred years of age, but no, Elsa is not entirely immortal," Tooth replied. "She is a half human and half immortal hybrid."

"What do you mean?"

"Her mother, Jack, is a human. Her name was Marian. She was a very sweet, kind, and absolutely beautiful woman," Tooth began, a smile gracing her lips. She glanced at Sandy and he returned her smile, both recalling the pleasant times they had had the chances to meet Manny's wife. "That time, Manny would occasionally descend on earth to make sure that everything was in order. It was when he met Marian."

"She was a lovely lady, and dear old Manny was head over heels for her," Bunny continued for her. "They soon got married, and were blessed with a child – a daughter whom they named Elsa."

"But happiness didn't last long," North said solemnly, and Sandy bowed his head low. "Marian died after childbirth, leaving Manny with grief and their newborn daughter under his care."

"Since Marian's death, Manny never stepped on earth once again," Tooth said, already on the verge of tears as she recalled the passing of her dear friend. Sandy, too, felt water welling up in his eyes – if he had the ability to cry. "He raised Elsa on his own and taught her. He made sure that she would turn into a good person and not follow her brother's steps."

"Don't think negatively about Elsa, Jack. Looks can be deceiving," North said, clamping his large hand on the young guardian's shoulder. "I know that she may appear cold and bitter, quite arrogant and rude, a bit spoiled, maybe intimidating, probably somewhat distant, extremely stubborn, sassy and irritable. But, in fact, there is more to her than to the eye. Never judge a book by its cover. Just remember, Jack. Elsa is a good person. And try to be nice to her, okay?" North's voice had gone softer, and his eyes were now full of concern.

"I will try to be nice to her, surely, but I figure it would be hard since I already made a _terrible_ first impression on her. She did throw me into the wall – _twice_," Jack deadpanned.

"Oh, that's just typical of Elsa. Don't worry about it," North laughed. "At least you've made it through better than we did."

"Geez, thanks for the compliment, North, I feel so relieved right now," Jack rolled his eyes. "So, what are we going to do about Pitch?"

Sandy held up a finger, indicating that he had an idea, and started conjuring a series of sand-images above his head while wiggling his hands about, obviously showing determination, even hatred – probably to Pitch, and well, lots of emotions and feels. The guardians stared at him, completely in confusion of whatever the sandman was trying to tell them.

"I say that we will do as Elsa has instructed," North suggested. "We must prepare ourselves."

"Mate, what exactly do you mean by preparing ourselves?" Bunny asked.

"Good question," North said with a grin. And his grin dropped. "I have no idea."

Bunny slapped his face with his paw. Jack rolled his eyes. "She should have been more descriptive."

"That was the most descriptive Elsa can be, Jack. She's always a mystery – you can't expect anything more from her," Tooth deadpanned.

"She doesn't want us to know everything. The girl's hiding something from us," North muttered, realisation dawning on him, but he was careful not to make his words audible enough for everyone else to hear. He quickly spoke. "Just do as the princess asked. Prepare yourselves. Bunny, Tooth, you two will return to your places and alarm everyone. We must protect the eggs and the memories of the children! We cannot let history repeat itself. After making sure the places are guarded, return here as soon as possible."

Tooth nodded firmly, understanding what her fellow guardian meant and quickly flew off the workshop, heading for her palace.

"Aye, mate," Bunny responded with a swift nod of his head. With three gentle taps of his feet, a hole appeared on the ground and he quickly sunk into it.

North then turned to Jack and Sandman. "You two, you will go on patrol, and see if you can find what Pitch is up to."

"I thought that's what Elsa's going to do," Jack protested.

"Yes, but she will need a hand, right? She may be a genius, but she can't do everything on her own," North countered. Sandy hesitantly raised a hand to interject, but was immediately dismissed by North. "Yes, yes, I know. But her father told her to work with us, didn't he? That means we have to work this out together. Now go on! We're wasting precious time!"

Jack chuckled, "Says an immortal," and quickly flew off, with Sandy following suit.

* * *

Humans have such a funny concept that the Moon is nothing but a lifeless planet that travels around the earth and reflects the light of the sun, shining our nights. But little do they know it is such an untrue assumption, for the Moon isn't the Earth's satellite, and it isn't lifeless, either.

It is a kingdom, and also the centre of the galaxy.

How long it had been, Elsa couldn't remember. She just knew that she had not returned to her home land for what seemed to be a lifetime. It had been decades since she last set foot on the kingdom of the Moon.

Caelum, the capital city of the Luna Kingdom, was still as glorious as she remembered it to be, with great buildings and structures created by the hands of their ancestors from thousands of years ago; a blue river that ever sparkled so magically as if all the stars on the sky had come to rest in it, winding around the precious pearl of the moon and securing it in its protective embrace; ranges of mountains with snow-capped peaks surrounding the city, creating a strong fence to defend the city.

And in the centre of Caelum, stood the magnificent Moon Palace, with walls made of marble and windows crafted from crystal – it was downright beautiful, it was breathtaking, and it was also her home. This place was where she was born, where she had walked her first steps and spoke the first words in her life, where held her most precious memories of her early years, and also where she had left her childhood behind.

Everything rushed back to her like a strong wave, swarming her in the memories of her earlier life. Everything seemed so familiar, yet so foreign to her. She had not returned here for far too long, and since then had been so used to calling Earth her home. Elsa suddenly felt a pang of guilt in her gut, and she realised that she had been indulging herself too deep in the pleasure of studying and exploring the secrets of the planet Earth for the past fourty years that she had so irresponsibly neglected her duty to her home and abandoned her people, her friends, and even her father – the only _true_ family she had left. For all these years, she had not visited him for once, mostly communicating with him through the pendant he'd given her on her 180th birthday. What kind of daughter was she?

But now she was home, and none of those mattered anymore.

Here on the moon, everything was so different from Earth, where everywhere always seemed so busy and everyone was in a hurry. Here on the Moon, everything seemed so peaceful and quiet, everything occurred ever so slowly and days seemed to pass so lazily. Time means nothing to you when you have all the time in the world in the palm of your hand. Elsa had loved the Earth for the greenness of trees that covered the planet and the rich blue of the flowing waves of oceans and the wonders that lay beneath that surface; she had grown to love the Earth for life there could never seem so dull. But still, as much fascinated as she was to it, there was a place in her heart it could never occupy, and that place belonged to her real home, one that was somewhere beyond the sky.

The princess of the Moon allowed her feet to once again feel the stone paving the streets underneath her, letting the wind caress her ivory skin and let her eyes be blessed by the extraordinary beauty of her home. People were still leisurely threading their ways along the stone-paved streets snaking through the city like tapes of ribbons. Some would throw her looks of astonishment and joy. Some would stop abruptly in their ways to acknowledge her with a nod or a smile, or to bow to their princess respectfully. And some, who had been friends with her since childhood, even abandoned whatever business they were having and rushed to embrace her.

Dismissing her thoughts, Elsa quickly made her way toward the Golden Library, which was situated in the west of the royal garden in the palace. The library was carved of pure gold itself – hence the name – and still as large and magnificent as she could remember. It was one of the places the princess would usually frequent during the earlier years of her life, mostly to seek pleasure and sanctuary amidst the vast knowledge of the universe folded in each pages of the books on those seemingly endless shelves. It was the greatest library in the whole universe, and this place had long become her greatest friend who she could always confide in to search for whatever knowledge or information she desired to acquire. And never once did it fail her – ever.

She pushed the heavy ornate double door open and entered the library. A small grin cracked at her lips as her eyes wandered all over the enormous amount of books displayed on the endless shelves lining up in the library, across the large chambers and along the golden walls. Ever since she was a young child, Elsa had had a great fascination and devotion for knowledge, always wondering why and how, and books were the only things that could satisfy her curiosity about the world around her. Elsa suddenly felt the familiar warmth of happiness and excitement cracking inside her like little blooms of fire, a feeling she had long forgotten now came rushing back to her.

It was like being home.

Elsa let out a choked laugh, allowing a single tear to form in her eyes and roll down on her cheek. But unlike the many tears she had shed in her life, this wasn't one of pain, sorrow, angst or loss. No. It was a tear of joy and of happiness, because finally, after fourty long years, she'd finally returned to what had been so dear to her, to the people she loved, and where she truly belonged. She was home, though only for a short time, but she was grateful that she was.

"Princess Elsa?" a deep, familiar voice sounded.

The girl immediately froze as she recognised the voice – it was unmistakable who the speaker of the voice. Slowly and hesitantly, she turned around, and her smile only widened as her eyes lay on the person that had called to her.

"Elder?" she breathed, joy clear in her voice.

A slender old man who was nearly as old as the moon itself shakily descended from the top of the stairs, his wide brown eyes never leaving her, looking so shocked as if he was staring at a ghost. His long white hair framed his old, wrinkled face and forehead, the forehead of a man full of wisdom, a beard covering his chin and chest. He was dressed in white, holding a bamboo staff in one hand, which made him look like a fairy.

"Little Spark, is that you?" he spoke once again when he had reached the same floor as her and was now only a few metres away from her.

Elsa grinned broadly, a small laugh escaping her. It had been years since she last heard someone calling her by her childhood nickname, and there were only two people who called her that, one being her father and the other one being Ansgar, Keeper of the Golden Library, and also her mentor.

"Yes," she replied. "It's me, Elder – in the flesh and bones. I'm home."

"My goodness!" he exclaimed. "Are my old eyes deceiving me? Oh, Elsa, my dear! It has been such a long time!" The man quickly closed the distance between them. He dropped the bamboo staff on the floor and embraced her tightly, which she happily returned.

"It's great to see you again, Elder," Elsa said, untangling herself from his arms after a few moments.

"And words can't even describe how happy I am now to see you," Ansgar said, smiling at her. "I heard that you've been wandering on Earth? So tell me, lass, what have you learned during your stay there?"

"How do you know that I've been indulging myself in studies?"

"Well, if I know you well enough, child – which I certainly do – then you won't just come to another planet for nearly half a century to sit still and do nothing. I think that the day your thirst for knowledge cease would be the day this universe disappears!"

Elsa laughed mildly at her mentor's comment. "You would be right, Elder. I have come to learn so much about the Earth for the past years, but it seems that the more I know the more I crave to learn. I just can't get enough of knowledge."

Ansgar lovingly tapped the tip of her small nose. "That's the Elsa I know and love," he chuckled. "You are always thirsty, and the only thing that can soothe your thirst is knowledge. You are always hungry, and the only thing that can satisfy your hunger is adventure. Your father certainly wasn't wrong when he recommended you as the Guardian of Wisdom."

"Elder, you know I am not fit for that position."

"Oh, Elsa," Ansgar shook his head. "You and I both know that old Tsar Lunar won't choose someone as a guardian of the Earth if they aren't worthy enough or… fit for the position."

Elsa bent down to pick up the discarded staff on the floor then handed it back to the keeper. "And I think we both know that it wasn't what I meant."

The old man thanked her then said, "Perhaps someday you will realise that it is your destiny."

"Perhaps someday, Elder, but not today," Elsa replied.

Ansgar nodded musingly. "So, to which do I deserve the honour, Your Highness? Clearly you didn't pay this humble old man a sudden visit just to stay and chat with him."

The princess sighed. "You know me too well, Elder. And yes, that would be correct. Unfortunately, as much as I wished to stay and catch up with the lost time with you, I did not return to the Moon this time for pleasure. I need your help, Elder, and I hope that you would grant me a favour."

"Of course," Ansgar said, "Anything for you, princess."

Elsa took a deep breath. "It's… It's about my brother, Elder."

Ansgar's eyes widened. "The Lord of Darkness?" he inquired. "What did he do this time?"

"More like what he plans to do. Pitch wants to take over the Earth again. And… you know what exactly he wants from that planet," Elsa said solemnly. "I cannot let that happen. That's why I came here, to search information about what my brother wants and intends to take. I've already confered with the Ethereal Court about the matter, but so far there has been no result. I figured out that the only place where I could obtain such information would be nowhere else other than here. I know what my brother is after."

Realisation dawned on Ansgar, fear rising in his eyes; he knew what she was talking about, and what she was planning to do. "You plan to reach it first before him."

"Yes, that is my intention. I have heard about it several times; I understand how dangerous it is if Pitch gets it. I must find it before he does. But I need more than just rumours about it, and I know its location is recorded in the Archives."

"Elsa! You can't possibly think of going on such reckless journey! It is very dangerous!"

"If I don't, then who will, Ansgar? Aside from Pitch, I'm the only one who could stand a chance to obtain it."

"Child, I beg you to reconsider this-"

"I have made up my mind, Elder," Elsa said adamantly, shaking her head. "I've been neglecting my duties to my kingdom and my subjects for far too long. It í time I fulfilled my responsibilities as the crown princess and future ruler of the galaxy."

Ansgar stared at the girl – no, the young woman before him. He hoped that he could find resignment in her eyes, but all he could see was great determination. Sometimes he wished she wasn't so much like her father.

"Alright, I will help you," the keeper sighed heavily in defeat, knowing that the stubborn girl would not step down. "Even if I didn't, you would just go and dip your toe into this anyway. Come along, Elsa. I know where exactly the information you need lies."

"Actually, Elder," Elsa said. "I fear that I cannot stay for longer. Much happy as I am to be home once again, I must return to Earth immediately. Time is running out, and I'd better not wasted it. I will come back in a few days' time. I need you to rummage through every piece of knowledge you can find in this library about what we need to find. Do not spare a single detail. During my time in the Earth, I will try to collect as much information as possible."

"As a loyal servant to the royal family, and especially the future queen of Caelum, who am I to deny it? And as a close friend to you and your mentor, I would gladly do as you told, Little Spark."

"Thank you, Elder," Elsa kissed his old, wrinkled cheek lovingly before summoning the wind to take her away.


	4. Chapter Three: Searching for Answers

Searching for Answers

Anna hastily squeezed her way across the busy road, releasing a relieved sigh when she finally made it to the other side. The strawberry blonde haired woman then quickly walked along the pavement. She pulled out her cellphone from the pocket of her coat and dialed a number. While still trying desperately to make her way home, she flicked a brief glance at her watch.

_17.42 p.m_, it read. The young woman groaned frustratedly.

_Come on, Elsa. Pick up the phone!_

Again, there was no answer. That was the fifth call she'd made in that afternoon, four times before that already! Where the hell her roommate had disappeared to, Anna had no idea. She just knew that Elsa suddenly vanished like a ghost to who-knew-where without leaving her a single word.

_Where on earth are you, Els?_

Finally, after half an hour trying desperately to make her way out of the heavy traffic without being killed, Anna had finally managed to reach the building where their shared apartment was. As she entered it, the twenty-year-old redhead immediately tossed her bag, which was heavy with books, on the couch nearby and looked around, only to find the apartment completely empty.

Apparently, Elsa had not decided to show up yet.

Sighing heavily, Anna made her way into the kitchen. It would seem that she was going to be the one who would be cooking again. Elsa had been gone quite a lot lately, often returning home late and exhausted.

_Probably off to bury her nose in a pile of books in some library again_, Anna mused. She had been friends with Elsa quite a while, having known her for two years since they were still freshmen in University of Connecticut, where she studied medicine and Elsa law. They had bumped into each other, literally, or more like Anna, being the clumsy one, crashing into Elsa in the main hall of their university, and since that fateful encounter, the two young women had become great friends. They had agreed to live with each other, in the rented apartment they shared only ten minutes walking from their school. They were at the same age, but Elsa looked more like sixteen than twenty. She had always been the mature one, strict, cautious and caring, while Anna was quite the opposite – carefree, clumsy and hot-headed, but kind and loving, much as Elsa. The two fit into the roles of older and younger sisters perfectly, loving and caring for one another even in the hardest times as though they were siblings.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Anna quickly answered it, hoping that it was Elsa, but instead it was someone else.

"Hey, Kristoff," she greeted happily, her face brightening with a smile as she realised it was none other than her boyfriend.

"_Hey, Anna. What cha doin'?"_ Kristoff voiced sounded on the phone.

"I just got home, cooking dinner for me and Elsa."

"_Elsa's there?"_

"No. She's been gone for the whole day. I haven't seen her since I woke up this morning – at five! And she left without a single note! She's been going out a lot. I'm worried about her, Kristoff."

"_She's probably just busy with her studies. Relax, Anna. Elsa can take care of herself."_

"I don't know, Kristoff…"

"_You worry too much. Give Elsa some space. Maybe she just needs to relieve herself from the stress at school."_

"Perhaps you're right," Anna said with a sigh.

"_See? Isn't that better? Anyway, gotta go. I've got another customer. Bye, Anna. See you tomorrow."_

"See ya." Anna shut her phone and resumed cooking, a smile slowly creeping up her lips at the thought of her boyfriend. She met Kristoff in the café where he worked. He was also a student in their university, majoring in business management, and a year older than her and Elsa. His family lived in the outskirts of the city, and he occasionally visted them when he had time. He was currently working part-time in a local café to provide for himself – he didn't want to depend on his family. The owner of the café, Oaken, was kind enough to let him stay in his empty apartment. It was a bit far from their school, but it was more than enough for Kristoff.

The three of them had been great friends from the start, and soon the pure and innocent flower of friendship between Anna and Kristoff had bloomed into the passionate rose of love. But the two had agreed to take things slow, neither wanting to rush into anything, for they still young and had not finished their studies. They just wanted to enjoy the new love they were sharing. There was no doubt that the young couple were deeply in love and perfect for each other – Kristoff was a kind young man and Anna was a carefree young woman. Elsa had always encouraged their relationship, trying to leave the two of them alone together as many times as possible. That usually resulted in two lovers being completely embarrassed and red-faced, and a little of awkwardness maybe, but eventually, they always had Elsa to thank.

"Coins for your thought?"

Startled, Anna jumped and almost knocked the burning frying pan off the stove. The redhead immediately whirled around and braced a hand over her heart, desperately trying to slow down the hammering pulse against her ribs.

"Elsa! Don't ever sneak on me like that!" she practically shouted at the platinum blonde haired woman, who was leaning against the kitchen door, arms folded neatly over her chest. Her hair was in her signature ponytail. She wore her usual red jacket draped over a black T-shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans and sneakers. Her leather satchel, which was old and slightly worn out, was with her as always, like a treasure she always kept by her side. The snowflake pendant, which, too, never left her neck, was hanging down her chest and shining as usual.

An arched smile tugged at the corners of Elsa's lips as she straightened herself up and walked toward Anna. "I didn't even try to make the slightest attempt in sneaking on you, my dear friend. In fact, I've been standing here for a quite a while. You were simply too preoccupied with whatever that was on your mind earlier that you didn't notice my presence."

"How did you even manage to get in? I didn't even hear a single sound!"

"I was very quiet. Besides, like I said, you were too preoccupied."

"Right. Where have you been for the whole day I woke up at five in the morning and you were already gone. I called you over and over again but you didn't even answer. You could have at least leave me a note."

"My phone ran out of battery; I forgot to charge it last night. Sorry for worrying you, but I had urgent business to attend to."

"Uh-huh," Anna nodded, eyeing Elsa suspiciously. She had known Elsa, and the blonde had always been extremely cautious. Elsa forgetting to do something was unusual.

Elsa seemed to have sensed Anna's suspicions. She quickly flicked her eyes toward the food Anna had been cooking and changed the subject. "Smells good. What are you cooking?"

"Omelette, and salad. We still have some fried chicken left from last night. Can you put it in the microwave for me? It's in the fridge."

"Of course."

Several minutes later, dinner was ready and both girls settled down at their small table in the kitchen. It wasn't until they began eating did Elsa realise how hungry she was. Travelling from Pennsylvania to the North Pole, from the North Pole to the Moon and from the Moon back here had drained a lot of energy from her. She may carry the blood of an immortal, but she was still human, and human needs food to survive.

Anna chuckled lightly as she saw her friend devouring on the food hungrily. "Hungry?" she asked, taking a bite of her food.

"You have no idea. I haven't eaten a crumb since I left."

"Eesh," Anna cringed. "I take it your day has been busy?"

"Hectic." That was Elsa's only reply. True, busy was a disgusting understatement to describe her day. Aside from the distant travel, which had already worn her out greatly, the meeting with the Ethereal Court just had to tense things up. She knew what her brother was searching for, and it was hidden somewhere here on the Earth, but she had no idea where precisely it was. No matter what cost, she must find it before he could, for if he did, this world would be doomed.

"Wow," Anna said. "What kind of business were you dealing with?"

"Family business."

"Your family?" Anna's eyes widened in surprise. "You never told me you had a family. Well, of course you do. Everyone has a family. But, seriously, you never mentioned them ever since we met!"

Elsa was silent for a moment. It was true. She didn't speak of her family, or her past to anyone on Earth, not even Anna, her best friend. What was there to tell, anyway, that she was a half-immortal with ice power who had not aged ever since she turned sixteen, princess of a kingdom in a planet thought to be lifeless to the entire mankind, and that she had been living on Earth for nearly two centures? Would anyone believe her? Hell, they'd even call her crazy.

And she did not want to speak of her family and her past. Apart from her desires for knowledge and adventures, it was because of the conflicts with her father and the ass of her brother that she had left home to come to this planet. Two hundred years was a long time for a mortal, and during that time, Elsa had been wandering over the whole world under many different identities, never stopping expanding her wisdom and indulging her curiosity to satisfy her thirst of knowledge. She had been to many lands, approached different cultures and met countless people. She had had many friends, close friends whom she had considered as her own family, her own mother, father, brother and sister… but unlike her, humans age and die; there isn't getting away from it. That she had learned from her own experience during her time on Earth, and it was a painful experience she did not wish to speak of, so ever since then, she never lingered somewhere for too long or tried to be involved too deep in relationships. She figured it would be best that way.

Sighing, Elsa forced herself out of the depths of her thoughts and looked up to Anna's questioning emerald blue eyes.

"My family lives very far away, so I hardly have a chance to meet them. Besides, we don't get along so well. We still keep in touch, but only contact each other when it's necessary," she replied.

"Well, that's kind of sad. Families are supposed to be close, especially siblings, like me and my brother, Olaf. We were inseparable. But then I gotta go to college and… you know. I miss him and my parents so much, though. Anyway, let's get back to you. How many people are there in your family? Do you have any siblings?"

"Three – my father, my older brother and I. Mother died giving birth to me. My father raised me. He's a good man, I always admire him, but because of a small conflict between us about my… future career, I left."

"Oh. I'm sorry… about your mother, and your… disagreement with your father."

"It's alright. You can say that we're better now. He still wants me to follow the path he has drawn out for me, though, but he respects my choice."

"Well, that's good to hear. So… what about your brother?"

"The ass of my brother, you mean? There's quite a large gap between me and him… in many ways. With him being much older than I am and the two of us being too different, it's hard to get along. He hates me, actually."

"Oh, Elsa, don't say that…"

"No, it's true. He seems to hate everyone, actually. Anyway, he's not in good terms with Father, either. He… well, he left home even before Father met my mother."

"Wait, you don't share the same mother?"

"No. He's only my half-brother."

"But still your brother, and your family."

"Yeah," Elsa chuckled bitterly. "Go and tell him that."

"What's his name?"

"Who?"

"Your brother."

Elsa didn't reply was her brother's name? People knew him Pitch Black, the Nightmare King or the boogeyman, as children called him, the name he had taken after he corrupted, or so she had heard. And in Cealum, they called him Lord of Darkness. It seemed like no one remembered what his real name was now, or what his proper titles were. But Elsa still did. He was Kozmotis Pitchiner, formerly Lord High General of the Galaxy, and he was, not her half-brother, but her brother.

"I never knew about his existence up until I reached the age of fourteen," she whispered quietly.

"Why?" Anna inquired curiously.

"Father forbade him from returning and tried his best to drive him away from me as far as possible."

"Why would he do that? He is his son!"

"It's because my brother is a criminal, and Father doesn't want him to influence me."

"So he's a bad person?"

The platinum blonde haired woman fell silent for a moment, leaning back in her chair, deep in thoughts. Was Pitch truly as black as he was pained – or as he painted himself? Sure, he may be cruel, harsh, and a little insane maybe, if you would, but never in a thousand lifetime would Elsa think that Pitch was entirely bad or evil. No, there is always light within the darkness, always a star shining upon the night sky, no matter how dark and cold it is.

Elsa was still mad at Pitch for what he had done to her and to everyone, and for the sins he had committed, but she never hated him, and never said that she did. Despite all he had done, he was still her brother, the kind and gentle brother who loved and cared for her, the brother she had always loved.

Slowly, Elsa shook her head. "No. He's not a bad person at all. He may have committed crimes, but that doesn't erase the goodness that still lies within his heart," she said fondly with a smile as happy memories she shared with Pitch suddenly came flowing back to her mind.

"Do you love him?" Anna asked.

"Yes, much as a younger sister can towards her brother," Elsa replied without hesitance.

"So does he love you back?"

The smile on Elsa's face suddenly fell into a small frown. Of course, she loved Pitch, but did he even care for her in return in the slightest? His heart had darkened, she had noticed, however the light was still there, but did he still love her and care for her like he once did? After what she had done to him? Probably not. He hated her now. There was no doubt that he did.

Sadly, Elsa shook her head, a heavy sigh rolling out of her. "I made a mistake and hurt him greatly once. Ever since, things between us have not been the same. I doubt he still loves me, or even sees me as a family anymore."

Anna nodded quietly, and the two proceeded eating their meals in silence before Anna decided to break the tension by changing the subject and starting to rant on and on about her day. Elsa listened keenly to the redhead's rambles with an amused smile on her face.

Once they were done, the two of them agreed to do to dishes together. The mischievous side of Elsa suddenly surfaced, and she playfully splashed water on Anna's face.

"Hey!" the twenty-year-old redhead shot her friend a playful glare and flicked some water back at Elsa, eliciting strings of giggles from the blonde.

"That's not very nice, you know, teasing people around," Anna chided playfully, scrunching her nose.

"Who says we can't have a little fun?"

"That doesn't mean you could splash water on me!"

"Water, not mud, my dear friend. Besides, you haven't taken a shower yet."

"But I just washed my hair yesterday."

"It will dry, don't worry."

Anna huffed. "Sometimes I really hate you, you know that?"

"Love you too," Elsa smirked, and the two continued washing the dishes. Elsa hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "Hey, Anna?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you… Would you mind being on your own for a couple of days?"

"Where are you going?"

"I have to go to Philadelphia to… to meet someone."

"Oh? Who?"

"An old acquaintance of mine."

"What for?"

"I'm just working on a… project of mine, and I think that person can help me with it. It will only take a few days."

"Well, it's fine, really. I can manage on my own. You don't need to worry much. But… do you have to?"

"Unfortunately, yes. It's Friday tomorrow, I don't have any lessons on Fridays, plus I'm free on weekends, so it's the only chance I've got. The deadline is next week already, so I'd better hurry. Don't worry. I'll be back on Monday."

Anna sighed. "Alright. But… just be careful."

"Of course. Are you sure you'll be good on your own?"

"I'll be fine," Anna reassured her. Elsa smiled softly at her friend.

"Thanks, Anna. You're the best."

"You're welcome."

* * *

Elsa left for Philadelphia the next morning after breakfast. While on the bus, she hardly paid any notice to the view outside, which was unusual of her. Instead, the platinum blonde haired woman sunk deep within her thoughts, tons of questions and worries spinning in her mind.

When Elsa was still a small girl, every night, her father would put her on his lap and tell her countless stories and legends of the universe, from the time when it was still a single sand to the Golden Age and the present day. He told her about how Caelum was formed, who its first rulers was and about the battles her people had fought to defend their land. And she remembered the story of Tsar Lunar I – first king of House Lunanoff, her ancestor – and the Sword of Moon.

Legend says that when the Dark Age still reigned our galaxy and the kingdom of Caelum was on the edge of the precipice, invaders from other realm in the other galaxy had seized the chance to attack the Moon. Tsar Lunar was the High Commander of Caelum at the current time. And with the Sword of Moon, the legendary sword whose blade forged by Tsar Lunar himself from the strongest, undestroyable material and the magic from the core of the Moon itself, he had defeated the invading army and sent them back to their homeland. The people of Caelum had elevated him to the throne, and he became King of Caelum, the very first monarch of House Lunanoff, and also Emperor of the galaxy.

But it wasn't the great king of House Lunanoff we are talking about, it was the magical sword he had forged and used to protect Caelum from the invaders from the other galaxy two millenia ago – the Sword of Moon. That legendary sword was not legendary. The story of it was true, for it was an heirloom of the House Lunanoff. It had been passed down from generation to generation in the family, namely to firstborns. The Sword of Moon possessed such great and powerful magic that it could wipe out an entire planet with ease. If it fell into wrong hands, then we could only imagine the disastrous end that was undoubtedly to come. Thus, her grandfather, King Tsar, had decided to lock the sword away to somewhere else to keep it from the hands of evil only to unlock it when they needed to use it again, somewhere it would be safe. And that somewhere was Earth. The only problem now was the specific location of the sword, which only one person knew – that was the rightful owner of the sword, Tsar Lunar.

And Pitch Black wanted that sword so badly to conquer the whole galaxy.

Elsa could not permit that to happen. She would do anything – anything – to prevent him from laying even a single finger on the heirloom, if it meant having to stand against her own brother. If it meant breaking her vow.

_I had hoped it wouldn't have to come to this_, Elsa mused sadly. _But the fate of our kingdom and the whole galaxy depends on it. I have no choice_.

There was only one way to end this game of darkness, and that was to reach to the finish line before your enemy. She had to get the sword before Pitch. And she knew that there was someone who could help her, someone she hadn't seen for years.

Elsa pulled out a photo from her pocket, one she had taken with her group of researchers back in Philadelphia when she was still a history professor in University of Pennsylvania. There were five people in it, her being one of them. There was a man with chestnut brown hair and bright hazel eyes standing on her left, and a smirk formed at her lips as she looked at him.

_Fifteen years is a very long time, Harry Bennett. I look forward to seeing you again... old friend._


	5. Chapter Four: An Old Friend

An Old Friend

Professor Harry Bennett was frustrated. Why? Because it was the end of the semester and Christmas was coming fast, yet there he was, buried within a pile of unfinished works.

He was one of the most eminent professors in the history department in the University of Philadelphia, and a member of a well-known group of historians, who had conducted many famous research that had made a revolution in the studies of history in America. Harry was definitely a busy man.

"Harry!" he heard his wife, Lily, calling from downstairs. "You have a guest!"

"Okay, I'm coming!" he replied. Glancing at the documents laid out on his desk, Harry released a sigh and stood up.

_Well, I suppose it could wait for a moment or two._

Harry quickly made his way downstairs to the living room, and he had almost died of shock when he walked into the room.

There was a young woman sitting in a sofa from across the coffee table, talking with his wife, though she could hardly be called a woman, given that she seemed to be barely twenty, but her eyes spoke otherwise. She wore a teal jacket that looked like it'd traveled half the earth; the long-sleeved lavender shirt underneath was carefully tucked in the pair of black pants that hugged her toned legs perfectly. There was an old brown leather satchel next to her. Her platinum blonde hair was styled into a bun, and her azure blue eyes were staring at him.

He didn't need more than a second to remember who it was.

"Elsa." The word rolled out of his lips, barely a whisper.

"Hello, Harry," the woman said softly, with a melodious voice he could never forget and had missed dearly, a cordial smile gracing her thin, rosy lips. "It's been a while."

"Y-Yes," Harry stuttered, still recovering from shock. "It has."

He still remembered her, the cheerful, determined and intelligent woman with hair shining the colour of snow and eyes glittering like stars on the sky. She was his colleague, his partner, and most importantly, his best friend.

There was a group, a famous group of historians and researchers who had conducted great studies and research that had literally brought the studies of history in the America to a brand new page – or old ones, if you prefer. The group consisted of five members, including Harry himself. And she was the leader and founder of the group – Professor Elisabeth Nordfjell, or simply just Elsa as she preferred to be called.

Elsa was originally from Norway, or so he heard. No one knew exactly about her past, and she never told anyone. All he knew was that when he first came to the university, Elsa had already been there for a couple of years, and rumours about the mysterious, beautiful young lecturer had already spread wide both amongst students and teachers. Anyway, the two of them quickly became friends and partners, always having each other's back. He admired her for her kindness and incredible intelligent.

But Elisabeth Nordfjell was indeed a difficult math, a mysterious puzzle no one had ever been able to solve. Her past was unknown, her personality was a maze – no one could figure out what she thought, what she felt, and who she really was inside, behind her mask.

However, despite her mysterious past, Elsa was very friendly, and she was considered the starlight of their group – she was both their mind and their soul. Everyone loved her and loved working with her. She never gave up and was always determined to see through their projects and research. She was smart, conscientious, maybe a little strict and stoic sometimes, and – boy – she did have some sarcasm, but she was always bright and cheerful.

She was the leader of their group, the most prominent member, and she was high on top. But then suddenly, she left. One day, Elsa came to class as usual, but then the next day, she was already gone. Not a word of goodbye, not even a farewell party, she just disappeared like a ghost, walking away from them without leaving a single sign. Harry and the rest of the group had tried to find and contact her, but all their attempts had failed. She didn't even leave a trail for them to track.

That was fifteen years ago. And now, she suddenly decided to show up, to come back completely out of the blue at nowhere else than his house.

They remained their for a long moment, neither of them speaking a word. The whole room was filled with an intense silence as two old friends stared at each other as memories of the past came rushing back to them.

_She's still the same – literally_, he mused. _She still looks _exactly_ the same like fifteen years ago._

Finally, Harry decided that this awkward and tense silence between the three of them needed to be broken. He cleared his throat uneasily and turned to his wife, gesturing his hand toward the blonde woman.

"Lily, this is Professor Elisabeth Nordfjell, who used to be my partner in the university, the one I've told you about," he introduced.

"Oh," Lily grinned and extended a hand toward Elsa. "Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Nordfjell. Harry won't stop rambling about you, you know?" Elsa looked at her old friend in surprise, and he blushed slightly.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Bennett. Your husband and I used to be friends while I was still working at the University of Philadelphia. And, please, call me Elsa. Everyone does." Elsa smiled warmly and shook Lily's hand briefly.

"Then you must call me Lily as well," the blonde woman grinned broadly, then looked at her husband, who was still staring at their guest dumbfoundedly, mouth agaped. "Well, I guess I should go and leave you two alone for a moment to… catch up with the lost times. As far as I know, you haven't seen each other for a long time, yes? Well, um, yeah, I should go. Nice talk?" Lily grimaced slightly at how much it sounded like a question then shyly retreated back into the kitchen.

Elsa said. "Your wife seems lovely. You're a very lucky man to have her." Harry smiled.

"Indeed I am. Lily is wonderful. Tea?"

"You read my mind," Elsa smiled, accepting the cup and taking a sip of the warm liquid.

"I still remember how much you love it. Me? I can't stand it. I can drink coffee for my whole life without losing any sleep, but give me a drop of tea and I'm gonna stay up for the whole night." A grin crossed his face as he said it.

"I believe we've proven that already," Elsa laughed, recalling the time they had tea together and Harry ended up staying wide awake for the whole night long. "You didn't let me sleep that night, either. That means we're even. So how long have you been married?"

"Almost fifteen years. A little while after you, uh, left, actually. Two or three months, I think."

"Oh? How many children do you have?"

"Two, one boy and one girl. Jamie is fourteen and Sophie is ten."

"Congratulations, then. I'm glad for you."

Elsa suddenly caught sight a picture of the family in the corner of her eye. She placed the tea cup down gently and looked at it. There were two people in the photo, a boy with brown hair and brown eyes, looking just like his father, and a little girl with blonde hair and green eyes, same as her mother's.

"Is that them?" she asked.

"Yes," Harry nodded, smiling fondly. "You know, the kids especially adores fairytales and legends, especially Jamie. He's fascinated with them. It's like legends and myths are his life."

"Like father like son, I see."

Harry gave her a small chuckle. "A particular Norwegian obviously rubbed it off on me. He's fourteen, almost fifteen already, but the little man still believes in all those fancy stories. I let him believe in whatever he wills, but as long as it's acceptable and he doesn't neglect school simply just to pursue his fancy ideas and dreams."

"Do whatever you must, Harry, but don't make the boy give up his childhood. Regardless, he's still a child and children need fun. Life will be dull and grey without some fun to add some colour to it. I believe someone in particular taught me that." She looked at him with a grin playing on her lips.

Harry burst out in laughter. "You were a workaholic, and a bookworm. Seriously, we thought that you were going to work yourself to death and eat books instead of food. Remember how we had to pull you out of your shell and make you take a whole day off? Yeah, I know, it didn't end up very well with me, but still…"

A smirk graced Elsa's lips as she recalled the memories. "Still, at least we had some fun together." She flashed a glance at the picture of the two children once more. "They're absolutely adorable. The two of them seem very close."

"They're inseparable. Jamie has always been a good pattern for his sister. I'm proud of him – both of them."

"You should be." Elsa's smile fell slightly as she thought of her own family.

_What a family we are, indeed._

"So what about you?" Harry's voice brought her back to reality. "Where have you been?"

"Around," she answered curtly with a shrug.

"How have you been doing? You don't seem to have changed since we last met. Look at what time did to me, I'm getting old." He ran his hand through his chestnut brown hair, which had begun to turn grey. "But you? You still look exactly the same."

"Everyone says that, though I feel like I'm centuries-old," Elsa smirked. _Which is true._ "Life hasn't been easy to me, but I managed to cope with whatever it bestowed me."

"Still living on your own?" Harry's hazel eyes darted towards her left hand, which was folded neatly in her lap.

Elsa blushed and self-consciously covered her left hand with her right one, knowing exactly what her friend was indicating. "I'm afraid so," she said. "I haven't found the right one yet. Besides, I've already got my hands full. I don't need a guy to add to the mess of my life."

"That was the same thing you told us fifteen years ago when we asked you the same question."

Elsa shrugged. "It's the truth. And I'm not interested in getting involved in a romantic relationship with anyone, let alone getting married. To be honest, being nailed down for the rest of my life by a man and a bunch of kids isn't the most exciting thing."

"You make it sound like marriage is the most horrible thing in the world."

"To me, it's a hindrance. So is love."

"It's not that bad, you know. Marriage is wonderful, and having children just makes life more beautiful and interesting."

"Or it makes life become a hell of a mess."

Harry rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply in resignment, knowing all too well that Elsa Nordfjell was too stubborn to bring around. "You're hopeless, you know that, El? Anyway, what brings you here?" Harry suddenly asked.

"Couldn't I just come and visit my friend?" Elsa raised an eyebrow, bringing her cup to her lips and slowly sipping her tea.

"Please," Harry snorted. "We were friends for eight years – close ones at that, let me remind you – plua I lived with you for nearly six years; I know you too well, Elisabeth."

The blonde woman exhaled, setting the cup on the table and straightened her back, squaring her shoulders. To Harry, that meant she was being dead serious, and this was a very important and urgent matter.

"You're correct. I actually didn't come here only to see you again."

"Figured so. How can I help you?"

Elsa drew a deep breath. "It may sound silly, but please understand that it is very important, not only to me but to many others also. You have always been the best when it comes to mythological studies. You are the only one that can help me. If there were another, I would have come to them already." She retrieved some papers from her satchel and handed them to him.

"This is what I've been searching for."

Harry eyed the old parchment in his hands then looked up at his blonde friend incredulously, raising his eyebrow questioningly. "The Sword of Moon? Elsa, please don't tell me you're chasing after a myth."

"Harry, I know it sounds crazy-"

"Nordfjell, you've always been crazy."

"I thought we had agreed on being serious, Mr. Bennett."

"I know, I know. Come, let's go to my office and see what I can do for you. But, honestly, Elisabeth, won't it be easier if you look for it on the internet? Last time I checked, you're a genius when it comes to computers and technology – well, you're a genius when it comes to everything."

"Already did, my friend. Apparently Mr. Google wasn't very helpful. And, in case you're asking, yes, I've rummaged through all the books I could find for this, but so far there's been no result."

"Cheeky as ever, I see," Harry chuckled. "Come on, Lizzy."

"Continue to call me that, and I swear, _Hairy_, I'm going to murder you!"

Harry Bennett just laughed. But as he led his friend upstairs to his study, a sad frown suddenly creased his forehead as he thought back of the old days…

Why did she just have to show up right now?

Harry looked at the woman before him and sighed. _Why do you always have to make things so complicated, Elsa?_

* * *

"This doesn't make any sense," Elsa grumbled, pacing about Harry's study, her hand clutching an old parchment.

"We came across this map a few years ago when we were on an expedition in Norway. We were searching for something else, yet instead we found this. Garret said it was just a 'useless piece of paper' but I thought it was quite interesting so I kept it. I don't understand what kind of language the words written on I were – it wasn't Latin or anything I know."

"Well, glad you kept it," Elsa said, unfolding the parchment and scanned it again then folded it back, groaning frustratingly. "This is our only lead, but I can't figure out what the hell this is trying to say! _'To find the key to the cave of wonder, you must enter the heart of the child of winter.'_ What is that supposed to mean? And I don't even know where this place is in this goddamn map!" She slammed her hands loudly onto the desk, causing the lamp to fall – but fortunately not on the floor.

"Thanks for reminding me how scary you can be when you're upset," Harry muttered, staring at Elsa with wide eyes. "Wait a sec, how could you read those runes?"

"I'm just familiar with the language," Elsa answered in a rush, her eyes still glued to the map spread on the desk before her. _It's my mother tongue, of course I can read it._

With a frustrated groan, Elsa sank into the chair next to her, head buried in her hands as she released a heavy sigh. "This is getting nowhere. We're running out of time and yet all I found was nothing!"

Harry, who had been standing near the bookshelf and watching his friend all the time, spoke seriously, "Elsa, be honest with me. Are you out of your mind? Do I have to tell you again that the thing you're looking for _does not exist_?"

"You don't understand…"

"Then make me! What do I _not_ understand, Elsa? What are you still keeping from me?"

"I can't!" Elsa instantly jumped out of her seat and into a standing position, face to face with Harry. "I-I just _can't_. I'm sorry." She ran a hand through her hair, tousling her bangs then sat down on the chair again. After a long stretch of silence, she finally said, "Look… I'll tell you… but not everything. You have to understand that I'm protecting you and your s- your family."

Harry noticed her slip of tongue, but said nothing of it. "Fine. Tell me everything you can." He grabbed a stool and sat down in front of her, eyes never left hers.

Elsa took in a deep breath. "Well… let's say that I'm some sort of… undercover agent who works for a secret organisation. I'm currently on a mission to go and search for the legendary Sword of Moon to bring it back and protect it from a dangerous man who wants this for… dark purposes. My superiors… they've instructed very clearly that… that I got rid of him… if possible. Anyway, to get to the Sword of Moon, first you have to find the key to the Cave of Wonder. There you will learn the location of the map that leads us to the sword. And once you've found the map, you will be able to reach to the sword – unless it is just as confusing as this one if not more, or you died during the process. That's all I can tell."

Harry leaned his elbows on his knees and knitted his fingers together, brows furrowed in deep thoughts. "And you're telling me that… that this whole thing… it's all real?"

"Even _Gladius Luna_, yes."

Harry straightened up in his seat and chuckled. "Oh, this is great. Why do you always have to make things so complicated, Elsa? So I take it that Jack Frost is real, too?"

"Wait, what?"

"Nothing. Just a joke. So… undercover agent?"

"You can say that."

"Was that why you left?" Elsa panicked as he approached that subject again. She tried to avoid it but he kept pressing. "Tell me, Elsa. I need to know why. Why did you walk away that day?"

"Because I had to."

"Why? Why did you have to go, Elsa? Everything was good – we were good, the three of us. We were happy, living a great life together like a real family. I don't blame you for leaving, but why not even a goodbye? I-We've been searching for you for years, we've never stopped hoping that some day maybe you would somehow come back to us. Why couldn't you just leave us a sign, a-a letter or something?"

"Because saying goodbye would only make it worse!" Elsa snapped. "Because I was a coward – I was afraid to face with the fact that I can never be with you – you, Garret, Franz, Vanessa. And I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to let you go!" Harry was completely taken aback by her sudden outburst; he froze in his place, staring at her with wide eyes. A shocked gasp escaped Elsa as soon as she realised what she had said. The woman immediately clamped a hand over her mouth and was about to rush away when a hand grabbed hers.

"Harry, please… let me go…" Elsa pleaded, avoiding his gaze.

"No, Elsa," Harry refused, his grip tightening around her wrist.

"Remove your hold on me right now, Harry Bennett, or suffer the consequences," she threatened.

Harry laughed. He gently cupped her face in his hand and brought her eyes to look at him, his thumb slowly stroking her cheekbone. "You think I'm afraid of you, Elsa? You're wrong."

"Well, you should be," she murmured, her body relaxing. "All I've ever brought is trouble."

"I know. You just _have_ to always make things so complicated, don't you, Elsa? But that's who you are and what I love you for."

Elsa felt him leaning in, their foreheads and noses almost touching, and she wished he could close that distance between them now, because this was what she had yearned for for years. But she knew this was wrong, so she pulled back and removed herself from his grasp, shaking her head quietly.

"You know we can't, Harry. This is wrong. You are a married man… I know you harbour feelings towards me – you've always had for over twenty years and you probably still do. But it's just the past… I don't ask you to forget it or try to hide from it but… please, don't dwell on it. It's been fifteen years, Harry. Everything has changed. You've changed – _I_ have changed. I think it's time we let go of the past… and focus on the present."

Harry nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry. I don't know what got over me."

"It's fine. I understand."

"Thank you. So… friends?"

Elsa laughed and held his extended hand tightly. "Are you kidding, Bennett? Of course we are! Forever and always-"

"Together we stay. You still remember?"

"Almost ten years of hearing you four babbling those words, how could I forget?"

"Yeah. I think the kids are back already – I heard their voices in the kitchen. Usually they would be really loud and make quite a presence. But they probably kept quiet so as not to disturb us. Let's go downstairs."

"Agreed. I'd love to meet them."

* * *

"Jack, could you stop floating in the air? It's really annoying. And stay away from the TV, would you? I'm trying to watch it," Jamie grumbled. Jack, who had indeed been floating in midair leisurely in a lying position above the television, laughed and finally landed on the floor.

"Alright, alright," he said.

"Thanks a lot. Wait, Soph, give me back the remote-argh!"

"Oh, just be nice to your little sis for a while, kiddo."

"Shut up. And I'm not a 'kiddo', _old man_."

"Ouch. You've wounded me."

"Serves you right," the boy stuck out a tongue at his guardian friend, who only chuckled in response with an amused, cocky grin on his face.

"You know. There's no need to be rude to-" Jack was cut off by two new voices as they saw Mr. Bennett entering the room with someone else, a strange young woman with platinum blonde hair, the two chattering quite animatedly with each other. Little Sophie squealed happily as she caught sight of her father and immediately hopped out of the sofa to rush into his arms. Jamie quickly seized the chance to take over the TV.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Hey, Sophie," Harry grinned, scooping the girl into his arms and pressed a long kiss on her chubby cheek. "How was your day, little angel? When did you get home? Why didn't you guys come upstairs with me? I thought you weren't home."

"We came back a little while ago, but Mummy said that you were busy and we shouldn't disturb you. And I had great fun! I drew a picture today. I'll show you later. But Jamie said his day was boring _as hell_ because of his Math teacher," the girl said. Jamie panicked.

"Sophie, you can't just go around and tell people what I said! Oh, uh, hi Dad," Jamie greeted awkwardly, the two children completely forgot the existence of a certain winter guardian in the room who was now standing with his mouth agaped and eyes wide staring at the woman beside their father.

"Dad," Sophie tugged on her father's sleeve, looking at their guest shyly, "Who is this?" Jamie was giving him the same curious and questioning look.

"Oh, yeah, right. Kids, um, this is Miss Elisabeth Nordfjell, my old friend," he introduced. Elsa beamed at the kid.

"Hello, Sophie. Your father told me a lot about you," she said softly.

"Hi, Miss Elisabeth," Sophie mumbled in a tiny voice then shyly hid her face into the crook of her father's neck.

"Just call me Elsa. Pleasure to meet you, little lady," Elsa grinned at the girl, and Sophie giggled quietly.

"Wait, wait, hang on a second! You're Professor Elisabeth Margrete Idunna Nordfjell?" Jamie jumped out of the couch.

"Indeed I am," Elsa said, slightly surprised that the boy knew her full name – well, fake name.

"Oh my God, I can't believe I finally got to meet you – personally!" the boy shook her hand frantically. "I've heard a lot about you, and your works! Is it true that you was the one who found out about the lost city of Arendelle? And… and you're the one who discovered the truth about the Snow Queen, aren't you?"

"_Snødronningen av Árnadalr_? Yes, I did."

"Whoa! You are awesome, you know that? Even Dad agrees with me. You don't know how much he rambled about you."

"Jamie Garett Bennett!" Harry scolded, his face turning a deep crimson.

"That's true, Elsa," Lily suddenly showed up and joined in the conversation. "Do you know that our daughter's name is Sophie Elisabeth Bennett?"

"You named her after me?" Elsa stared at Harry, shocked.

"No. Actually Jamie was the one who chose the name. And of course I approved. He's obsessed about you."

"It's your fault! You kept talking on and on about her," Jamie pouted.

"Dude, please let poor this old man of yours have some dignity. This idol of yours already embarrassed me enough for almost ten years." Harry tilted his head towards Elsa, who was glaring at him playfully.

Lily laughed. "It's good to have you here, Elsa. Anyway… dinner's ready, guys. Come on in. I bet you're starving."


	6. Chapter Five: We Meet Again

We Meet Again

Dinner was an interesting affair. Jamie noticed that his Dad's friend was most interesting, funny and cheerful, but he felt that Elisabeth Nordfjell carried a very mysterious air around herself. Yes, she seemed very opened around his family, but to him, she was like a closed door – locked and secretive with a big secret hidden deep inside.

Jamie excused himself from the dinner and retreated back to his room to see that Jack was already there in his usual spot, sitting on the windowsill with one leg popped up and the other dangling by his side, his crooked staff leisurely rested on his shoulder and his eyes gazing at the moon. Jamie knew that Jack wasn't alone at all, he had friends across the world, but at this moment, somehow he looked so sad, so unlike Jack and so… so lonely. The boy felt extremely guilty for ignoring his friend for the whole evening. He opened his mouth to apologise but Jack beat him to it.

"Who was that girl?" he asked, his voice more serious than ever. That was very unusual of him.

"Elsa? She's my dad's old friend. She's nice, and an amazing woman, though a little odd, I'd say. I like her. She's quite funny and cheerful. But sometimes she creeps me out." Jamie shuddered.

"Same goes to me," Jack muttered, but didn't say it loud enough for Jamie to hear.

"Sorry for casting you aside for the whole evening. I guess I got too excited about finally seeing my idol that I kind of… forgot about you."

"Nah, it's okay. I understand."

"Is something wrong, Jack?. You seem… strange."

"No, nothing's wrong… It's just… Well, actually we have a little problem… Ah, how am I gonna tell you this?"

"Tell me what?" Jamie asked.

"You know, Jamie Bennett, some people consider it… unusual and not very healthy to talk to yourself," a new voice sounded, startling the boy and causing him to whirl around.

"Elsa? How did you get in?"

"I think you haven't noticed, but the door was open. You know, next time when you want to start a conversation with yourself. You don't want people to think that you're… unstable or something," Elsa teased, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Yeah, sure," Jamie said, glancing over his shoulders briefly to see that his friend was now standing straight on the floor, his hand gripping the wooden staff tightly. He looked back at his Dad's friend, "Thanks for the advice, but I wasn't talking to myself. I-I was talking to J-my friend."

"Really? I don't think I've seen anyone else in the room."

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough. Who is Jack by the way?"

"M-my friend."

"An imaginary one?"

"You can say that."

Elsa chuckled, leaning her petite form against the door frame. "I really hate to admit it to you, kiddo, but I had an imaginary friend once, too. And that was very long ago."

"Really?" Jamie asked.

"Really. Back when I was still a small girl like you are now, or probably a couple of years younger, when I was lonely and no one would even acknowledge me."

"Why would they do that?"

Elsa drew in a deep breath. "Let's just say, child, that back in where I come from, they don't see me… worthy enough… they don't see me as one of them because I'm different."

"Different how?"

"Sorry, kid, but that information is private."

"I'm not a kid, you know – I'm fifteen already."

"Children at such age usually have the misconception that they are old and wise enough to handle everything and to escape their parents' protective arms – that's why they can make great mistakes they will deeply regret in the future. Of course, you have to learn how to stand up on your own feet and fight for yourself, but don't exaggerate things and run away from home."

Both of them laughed. "I won't, I promise," Jamie said. "Besides, it's not like I'm gonna leave Sophie here. She's a mess and I always have to clean messes."

Elsa smiled at the boy, but her lips soon turned into a frown. A sad sigh suddenly rolled out from her nose as she thought back about her own family – or more specific, her relationship with her brother.

Her thoughts were interrupted as something in the room caught her eyes – it was a snow globe. And not just any snow globe – North's snow globe. The blonde woman slowly made her way across the room to the small bookshelf in the corner. Not a single moment did her eyes leave that crystal ball. She lifted it from its place and cradled it in her hands.

"You have a very interesting snow globe here, Jamie," she said without turning around to face him. "Did you buy it, or was it a gift?"

"Ah, that's a gift from a friend of mine. Careful not to drop it. It's very delicate."

Elsa didn't answer and continued to examine the globe. Then she realised that it wasn't North's globe – it just looked similar to the old man's toys. This was one made of pure ice, and had a small village nestled inside it. Elsa immediately recognised that village.

And she knew who its creator truly was.

"Tell me, Jamie. Do you believe in Jack Frost?"

Elsa turned around to face the stunned teenage boy, but her eyes didn't meet his. Instead, her cerulean blue orbs were meet with two icy blue gaze of a certain guardian.

* * *

The winter spirit had been watching her with alert eyes from the moment she walked into the room. When he saw her earlier, he was utterly shocked. She looked just like Elsa, the girl he just met several days earlier who claimed to be daughter of the Man in Moon, and he was dead certain that it was her, although the way she dressed herself made her look slightly older. But he couldn't understand how she could turn from someone so cold, so frigid and intimidating like the girl he met days ago into a wise and kind young woman she was now. And one thing he couldn't understand was why she seemed to have no idea of his existence in this room. He started to doubt that this was that Elsa.

_Maybe they just look alike and I'm mistaking._

Then, suddenly, she asked Jamie, "Do you believe in Jack Frost?" then stared right into his eyes. Now he was even more certain that this girl was truly the girl he thought her to be. He stared back into her frigid eyes as she looked at him, blue capturing blue in an intense, resentful glare.

But she quickly tore her gaze away from his after half a heartbeat and continued to pretend that she was completely ignorant of his presence.

Jamie was standing with his back facing him, but he was sure that the boy was clearly taken aback by that unexpected question.

"Why do you ask?"

That smirk appeared on Elsa's lips again, and it wasn't until now did Jack notice how much it reminded him of Pitch. "You might want to take a look at your room, Jamie. You have a drawing of Jack Frost right over there," she pointed at Jamie's painting of himself, Sophie and his friends with Jack in a snow day hung on the wall above his headboard.

"Uh, yeah, I do believe in Jack Frost."

"Really? I thought he's just a myth? Just like Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny and such."

"Well, they're real – they always exist to children, and we always believe in them. They're like the guardians of childhood; they look after us."

"Somehow I doubt that. The others, I can agree, but Jack Frost? He is a mere spawn of nature who brings nothing but chaos and death."

"Why would you say that? Jack Frost is a good person. He cares for children. He brings winter-"

"Brings winter! You are too naïve, Jamie. Jack Frost doesn't bring winter."

"What?" Jamie narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"Winter – or any season – isn't controlled by Jack Frost or any Guardian of Childhood," Elsa continued, her eyes colder than ice. She placed the crystal globe back to where it was then faced him once again. "Everything on this planet – plants, animals, people, every being, every creature, even the seasons and weather – is being controlled by Mother Nature." A laugh escaped her lips. Elsa glanced down at the orb in her hands momentarily. Snow began to fall, creating a small snowstorm swirling around the tiny village inside the crystal globe.

"You mortals always have such ridiculous ideas that are extremely untrue. Jack Frost isn't the bringer of winter as you think he is, child. Winter is a powerful and heartless force, wild like an untamed horse, too dangerous for one to control, even for Mother Nature. That is why she had created him, turned him from Jackson Overland, a mere farm boy, into the spirit of winter Jack Frost to help her… tame this wild horse. He herds the sheep, but unfortunately, they don't belong to him.

"And then Tsar Lunar, or as you usually call him, Man in Moon, saw potential in him and made him a guardian of childhood, to guard, protect and care for children all around the Earth. However, in the end," the woman slowly looked up at Jack.

"He is just a mere spawn in a game of darkness… We all are."

Jamie followed her gaze and found that she was looking directly at Jack – the winter guardian. Shock, confusion, and a bit of fury swirled inside him, as he looked back and forth at the two people in his room.

"You-you can… see him?" he stuttered. "H-how?"

To both Jack and Jamie's surprise, Elsa smiled warmly at him, her eyes softening and glinting with joy. "So you are indeed who I'm looking for, the one who hold the answer to my question."

Both Jamie and his friend were confused and had no idea what she was talking about. But before they could say anything, the door opened and Harry Bennett poked his head inside.

"Ah, there you are, Elisabeth. I've been looking for you everywhere," he said, entering the room with Lily and Sophie in tow.

"Nice to see you two getting along with each other," Lily smiled. "So what are you two talking about?"

"Stuff," Elsa shrugged.

"Uhuh," Harry nodded incredulously. He knew that look in Elsa's eyes, and that meant she was up to something… again, but decided not to pry. "Anyway, sorry for the wait, but I found it." Harry handed her the file he'd been holding in his arms.

Elsa gave him a smile and tucked the file into her satchel. "Thanks, Harry."

"You're always welcome, Lizzy."

"Harry…" Elsa warned.

Lily chuckled at the two. "God. Garett told me how worse you two were, but I didn't imagine it was this horrible." She shook her head.

Elsa turned to face Jamie. "It was nice talking to you, Jamie. But I'm afraid I must take my leave now. Want to walk me downstairs?"

Jamie glanced over his shoulders to look at Jack, who gave him a reassuring smile and a small nod, then looked back at Elsa, a smile cracking at his lips. "It'll be my pleasure."

The three of the walked out of the room, Elsa being the last. Before she closed the door, however, she turned her head around and locked her eyes with the winter spirit still standing there. The blonde woman then tilted her head towards the crystal ball then left. Confused, Jack walked towards the bookself and looked into the snow globe.

His eyes widened with realisation.

* * *

"Elsa, do you have to go? You can always stay, you know. There's a spare room for you in our house," Lily said when they were already outside the house. She didn't know Elisabeth Nordfjell as much as her husband did, having met her only a couple of hours earlier that day, but she could say that she liked the woman.

"Aunt Lizzy, you're leaving?" Sophie asked.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but I'm needed somewhere else."

"How come she gets to call you Lizzy but I don't?" Harry muttered.

"Oh, shush, Harry," Lily chided him lightly, swatting his upper arm.

"Will you visit us again?" Sophie asked, looking at Elsa with pleading eyes.

The blonde woman was silent. Would she, or rather _could_, ever come back here? Of course she would, for the ice princess had grown fond of this adorable family, but could she? Maybe not. Coming here would only make things more difficult for her and for Harry. Coming here would be a risk for both her and their family. Of course she couldn't come… but she didn't want to break the child's heart.

So she forced a smile to her lips and stroked the little girl's head. "Maybe some day, child. Maybe some day."

"Promise?"

She hesitated, but eventually nodded and said, "Promise." Thus the deal was sealed.

Harry smiled at them. Much as he loved for her to stay, he knew she had to go, and if this kept going, she would be late for sure. "Come on, you don't want to be late for the train, Elsa. Do you want me to take you to the station?"

"Thanks, but no, that's alright. I need to visit a… friend of mine before going." Elsa looked at Jamie and placed a hand on his shoulders.

"It doesn't matter what you believe in, Jamie Bennett," she said. "What's important is that you keep believing in it… no matter what."

Elsa bade the family goodbye and started walking away, but a hand clamped on her shoulder, stopping her. She turned around to see Harry with a sheepish grin on his mouth, holding a coat in his arm. The others were already inside.

"Let me walk with you… just for a while… to the end of the road, that's all."

"You should get in. It's cold tonight."

"It's alright. Just for a while, remember?"

Elsa reluctantly nodded. Smiling, Harry slipped his coat on then offered her his arm, which cause Elsa to arch her eyebrow up.

"When are we, the 19th century?"

"Can't I just be a gentleman to a lady?"

"Since when are you a gentleman, and since when am I a lady?" Elsa teased, but took his arm anyway. Harry smiled at her and they began walking.

Silence reigned over them for quite a long moment, neither of the two finding themselves able to speak, not even a single word to each other. They walked together quietly, in the tranquility of the night. All they could hear was the steady breathing of their noses and the winter wind, and the hammering pulse in their sternum.

"Wonderful night, isn't it?" Harry commented, deciding to break the silence and the awkwardness between them.

"Yeah, I guess."

"You never liked winter, if I recall correctly," Harry mused. "Why?"

"I used to like it, love it. Winter… it held a great part of my childhood, my heart and my soul. But… it brings back too many painful memories… too many old scars and pains… Now it's nothing but a cold, ruthless force to me."

"What happened?"

"Let's say that… it was a harsh winter that year. It came and took away a lot from us… even our loved ones."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Everyone is."

They were quiet for a brief moment once again, before Harry spoke up. "It's almost Christmas. Do you remember that Christmas back in 1995?"

Elsa burst out laughing. "How could I forget? That was the most disastrous Christmas I've ever had…" Her gaze softened and her voice became quieter. "And it was also the best Christmas in my life… even until now. We had so much fun… the five of us… together." Suddenly, her smile dropped into a frown. "It was my last Christmas with you guys."

"Yeah," Harry bowed his head slightly. "You left just a few days before the next Christmas… December 21st."

"You remember?"

"Why wouldn't I? It was an unforgettable day. Garett and I woke up, and you were gone, even your belongings. Your room was empty, and so was the house when you left. We looked for you the entire day. We hoped that you were at Vanessa's, or probably burying your nose in a book in some library or café. We hoped that you would probably be gone for just a couple of hours… and turned out, you were gone for nearly two decades…"

"I'm sorry for that. It was horrible of me to do such things to you guys."

"I don't blame you, Elsa. Neither do the others."

"So how are they now?"

"Oh, they're good. We're still a team. Garett got married ten years ago. He has a boy now. Nice kid, I love him. Vanessa is still living a happy life with her husband James. They have two other kids. And Franz… do you remember Yvonne, the librarian? Yeah, he married her… Wait. You're don't seem very surprised. Elsa? I know that smile."

"I… may have hooked them up, or at least I had a hand in it," Elsa confessed, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Well, Franz had been heaving a crush on her for a while back then."

"Yeah."

"I guess that leaves you the only single one in the group."

Elsa chuckled and gave a shrug. "I don't mind, really. I'm fine with this kind of life. Honestly, I never thought of… getting married, having children and… starting a family. I guess I never wanted to."

"You don't want to? Or you can't?" Harry asked. Elsa didn't answer. Instead she looked down, deep in thoughts.

They didn't say anything else until they reached the end of the road. When they did, Elsa untangled her arm from Harry's and looked ahead of her with a heavy sigh.

"I wish you didn't have to go," Harry murmured.

"But I have to."

"Will you come over again? We'd love to have you here."

Elsa sighed heavily. "I can't, Harry."

"Can't or won't?"

"Both."

Harry exhaled deeply. "It's your choice; I won't force you. But know that you're always welcome at our place. The kids love you, Elsa. They'd love to see you again."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. "I have something for you. I was about to give it to you that Christmas fifteen years ago, but I never had a chance to. Now, I know what you're gonna say because I know you, Elsa. You'll refuse it, and I refuse to let you refuse this gift. I've kept it all the time so that maybe if I met you again, I would be able to give it to you. Now I have, and I want to give you this." He opened the box and took out a silver bracelet from it.

"I spent a third of my salary that month to buy you this, Elsa, so please, accept this… for me."

Elsa snorted, a grin playing on her lips. "You spent a third of your salary? Just to buy me this? You know, last time I checked, it wouldn't cost a tenth of your salary."

"I was tricked, okay? The old man overpriced it."

She burst out in laughter. "Stars, I _knew_ it!"

"Please, give this poor friend of yours a break and not embarrass him any longer."

"Okay, okay… but seriously? Fine, fine, I'll stop, just… don't give me that look, would you?"

Harry chuckled and put the bracelet around her slender wrist. "There, perfect. It suits you."

"It's beautiful, thank you."

"Merry belated Christmas?"

"Merry belated Christmas."

They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like forever, neither caring about time anymore, just each other. Brown lost in blue, blue trapped by brown, they couldn't find the urge to tear their gaze away from the other. Harry suddenly found his hand raising up to caress her soft, rosy cheek and cradle the side of her face in his palm. Her skin was slightly cold under his hand, but surprisingly comfortable.

"You know, there was one last gift I intended to give you that day. One I should have given you a long time ago."

Slowly, he leaned forward and did what he should have done fifteen years ago, something he'd desired to do for years – he kissed her.

* * *

Jack knew he shouldn't have left Jamie's room without saying a word to the boy like that, but he understood what Elsa meant when he did as she silently told him and looked into the snow globe he'd given Jamie. He had made it himself. The tiny model of the village he'd crafted from wood inside the globe was in fact his home village – or at least it was what he could still remember of his home village. And that was where Elsa wanted him to meet her… immediately.

Jack still didn't trust her. Not that he had anything against the girl, or that he didn't like her because her brother was his enemy, he wasn't that kind of person… It was just that there was something off about this girl. She always acted so mysterious and cold, and frigid. Yet sometimes she seemed like a totally different person. He was both suspicious and intrigued by her. It was complicated. Elsa… she was something else. And he wanted to know.

The winter guardian set his feet on the ground as soon as he arrived at the lake where it all began. And it appeared that Elsa was not there yet.

It was winter time now. Suddenly, his mind wandered back to what Elsa had said about him earlier that night. He hated to admit it, but the girl was right. He wasn't one who brought winter to this world and thawed it away. He was only the one who made it snow in places where it didn't snow to create fun and light up the gloomy, sombre mood of winter; he was only the one who – like Elsa said – helped tame the wild and powerful force of winter. He couldn't stop or prevent a snowstorm; he could only make it weaker to reduce the damage it might cause. Elsa was right. He was just a shepherd, and a minion of nature.

Jack walked on the frozen lake. The ice was thin, but he didn't have to fear of falling in now. Shortly after he officially became a guardian, he had asked Tooth to return him all memories of his previous life, which she had gladly agreed. He remembered everything now, his childhood, his family, his friends – everything. And he remembered his sister, too.

Emma, that was her name. They were so close, so inseparable that it was as though they were each other's shadow, rarely leaving each other's side. He was always there for her and she was always there for him. They quarelled a lot, yes, but still, they cared deeply for one another. After all, wasn't it what siblings were for? To tease, to constantly argue with each other, to harass each other in the most fun and playful manner, and to love, to care, to protect each other and always have each other's back?

He missed Emma; he really did. But he knew she was long gone. He had no idea how she lived or how she died. Did she have a family of her own? Was she happy? He didn't know, and he couldn't do anything to change it. All he could do was to hope that she had lived a good and happy life.

"You know, unless you want to be Sleeping Beauty in a Frozen Lake again, you might want to stay up shore, Frost," a familiar, sassy voice sounded from behind his back. With a sigh, he turned around to face her, rolling his eyes.

"Look who finally decided to show up."

Elsa was standing with her back leaning against a tree and her arms folded neatly over her chest. Her hair had been released from its tight bun, now a single braid draped over her shoulder. She was no longer in the clothes she had been wearing that night, but dressed in similar clothing to the first time he met her – loose white button-up shirt with sleeves rolled up above her elbow under a brown vest, tight black pants and leather boots, her dagger strapped to her belt and a dark hooded cloak draped over her shoulders and back. The signature mysterious and mischievous smirk played on her lips as she gave him a light chuckle.

"No need to be rude," she said, straightening herself up and took several steps towards him.

"So, we meet again, Jack Frost."


	7. Chapter Six: Broken

Broken

"So, we meet again, Jack Frost," Elsa said, stepping onto the frozen lake and striding towards him, the sound of the heels of her boots clicking on the ice.

Jack allowed himself to let down his guard a bit and took a few steps forward, narrowing the distance between them. "Thanks for stating the obvious," he deadpanned. "Quit with the drama already, will you? You know, princess, I didn't expect to see you here at all. What are you doing here in Burgess?"

"I'm here to collect information on what Pitch is looking for," she replied.

Jack eyed her suspiciously. Elsa knew what he was thinking and rolled her eyes. She crossed her arms and popped her hip to one side, her eyebrow arching up at him, which Jack found quite charming and seductive – wait, what?

"I'm not siding with Spiky Head, if that's what you're thinking I'm doing."

"He's your brother."

"Ah, so it seems that old man Nicholas already told you who I am. Well, that saves me some explanation. Yes, Pitch Black is my brother… well, _half_-brother to be exact… but it doesn't mean I _have_ to side with him. And," Elsa straightened herself up, her eyes sharp as the blade of a knife, "I am the daughter of Tsar Lunar, but it doesn't mean _I_ have to work for him or any of his _minions_."

"If you hate us so much, then why working with us?"

Elsa scoffed. "If you think I am stupid enough to work with you bunch of useless idiots, you're wrong. I only have two rules, and those are to trust no one and to side with no one. I work _alone_, Frost."

"But didn't Manny tell you to work with us, be one of us even?"

" And you thought I would gladly be daddy's good girl and do whatever he says like a machine that only knows to listen and follow orders?" she raised her left eyebrow at him, popping her hips to a side and resting all her weight in one leg.

Jack flung his arms up. "You're unbelievable."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

_Yup, she's unbelievable_. Jack sighed, "So what is Pitch up to this time?"

"A very powerful weapon called _Gladius Luna_, or the Sword of Moon as mortals often refer it. Have you ever heard of it?"

"Yes, I know the legend, pretty cool, eh? When you spend three hundred years wandering the Earth on your own, you tend to pick up a lot of things on your way. But why is Pitch after the sword? I thought it was non-existence."

"Says an immortal, five-hundred-year-old winter spirit who has the abilities to command winter elements at his will."

"Three hundred," Jack corrected.

"If you don't count two hundred years of living as a mortal and being trapped inside this lake beneath you."

"How do you know so much?" Jack stared at her, surprised.

"When you spend nearly a hundred years wandering the Earth on your own, you tend to pick up a lot of things on your way," Elsa smirked slyly. "Anyway, the Sword of Moon isn't a fancy story woven by human's imagination; it does exist, because that sword, Jackson Overland Frost, belongs to my family, House Lunanoff of Caelum. The blade was crafted by our ancestor, King Tsar Lunar of Caelum, the first of his name, millions of years ago. It has been passed down from generations to generations in our bloodline. It only bends to the will of a Lunanoff."

"Is Pitch even considered as part of your family? Because North told me that he wasn't born… normally, but created by your father's magic."

"He _is_ the son of my father, regardless of how he was born. Tsar Lunar had made it legal that Pitch was his son _and_ his heir. The crown of Caelum was his birthright. He was only deprived of it because of the sins he had committed in the past, leaving Caelum without a successor until two millenia later when I was born."

"So he _can_ use the Sword of Moon?"

"Smart boy."

"I'm not a dog."

"Oh, right, I forgot. No, you're not a dog – you're the guardian's lap dog."

"You know, princess, if we are to work together, you should stop insulting me and my friends."

"Then since we _are_ going to work together, you'd better get used to it and bear with me."

Jack groaned and smacked his face with his palm. "You're unbelievable."

"Thank you."

"So where is this Sword of Moon? Do you have it?"

"Nice question. Of course I don't! If not, I wouldn't have to come all the way here to find out about its location – or rather the way to get to the location where my father has hidden this bloody sword."

"Why would Manny have to hide it away?"

Elsa gave him a look, arching her eyebrow up again. She really did that a lot and Jack wished she wouldn't do it anymore because that crept him out.

"Right, right, stupid question, I know. Of course he did it to keep it away from Pitch."

"Thanks for finally grasping the idea."

"So you know where the sword is now?" Jack asked.

Elsa opened her mouth to reply but immediately stopped as she suddenly heard a faint rustling sound. Alert, she ran her eyes over her surroundings sharply, one hand slowly reaching for the dagger at her belt. Jack was confused at her sudden change and followed her gaze to look around at the thick forest surrounding them but found nothing suspicious – there was not even a sound or a breath of wind. Everything was silent, even the trees.

He saw Elsa staring at something behind him, her thin eyebrows furrowed in concentration, almost knitting together into a single line hovering above her narrowed eyes. Jack whirled around to see what she was looking at, then his eyes widened as he saw a pair of glowing amber orbs emerging from the shadows of the woods.

All of a sudden, something large and black shot out from between the trees and lunged at them, so fast that he could hardly register what it was.

"Duck!" he heard Elsa yelling at him and instantly jumped to a side to avoid the attack. He was lucky that he was able to fly so he could dodge it easily. Elsa, however, wasn't very lucky. She had unsheathed her dagger and raised it in front of her fast enough to block the sudden attack, but it was too strong for her and it was already too late to dodge it. The dagger was snatched away from her hand, flying out of her grasp and falling onto the ground several yards away, while its owner got shoved backwards by the strong force of her attacker, so hard that she hit the ground a few meters from the lake.

"Elsa!" Jack frantically called out to the fallen girl now lying motionlessly on the ground and rushed to her side, but something black lunged at him, grabbing the winter spirit and pinning him to the ground. Jack looked up, only to be met with the glaring red eyes of a horse made of black sand.

That only meant one thing – Pitch.

He quickly grabbed his staff, which, luckily, had fallen right beside him and in his reach, and froze the horse with his power. The creature shrieked then dropped to his left side. The winter spirit scrambled to his feet and looked in the direction where Elsa was, relief washing over him to see that she was struggling to push herself off the ground. He quickly flew to her side to assist her.

"You okay?" he asked, grabbing her arm to help her to her feet.

"Get your filthy hands off me, Frost," Elsa growled, yanking her arm away from his grasp. Jack grinned.

_She's okay._

"You know, Pitch, stabbing people on the back… it's not cool at all," Jack called out, knowing that Pitch was there… somewhere.

"Why, Jack. You disappointed me. Haven't you learned? I don't play fair," a familiar chuckled sounded in the air. Jack looked around to see that they were trapped by Pitch's army of horses, but there was no sign of Pitch. He glanced to his side to see Elsa, who had now managed to stand straight once again, acting so calm as if nothing had happened, which was kind of odd to him.

"You know, I was actually aiming for you, Frost," Pitch continued. "It's a shame my sister just had to stick her hose into people's business and ruin my perfect plain. Anyway, nice to see you again. Long time, eh? Can't say I've missed you. And of course, how could I forget my dear little sister?"

Elsa rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, groaning frustratingly. "Really, Picth? We've been in this _very same_ situation before, and that was _two days_ _ago_! Just show yourself, would you? I already know where you are. And in case you're going to stab either of us in the back with that spear of yours, my dagger will plunge into your back before you know it."

A dark chuckle sounded from behind them. "Sneaky, but smart. I didn't see that coming. Well, you got me, sis."

Jack turned around. Moments later, Pitch slowly emerging from the darkness of the woods, revealing himself to the bright moonlight of the night with Elsa's dagger in one hand, his shoulders rumbling in a deep chuckle.

"I must say, I'm impressed," he said.

Elsa still didn't turn around and kept her back facing him. A wicked grin slowly tugged at the corners of her lips, mirroring her brother.

"Well, let me tell you something, _big brother_," Elsa said in a mocking tone. She spun around, the dagger flew away from Pitch's grasp and into her hand in a blink of an eye, so fast that Jack could barely register what had happened.

"I don't play fair, either." A smirk rose at her lips. She slid the blade into its sheath, her eyes still locked with Pitch's grimly. "Now, stop beating about the bush. What are you doing here? Stalking on us?"

"You know full well what I'm here for, Elsa." The grin on Pitch's face vanished, and was replaced by an intimidating, angry snarl. "Where is the key?"

"I don't know," Elsa said flatly, her eyes cold, face blank and emotionless.

"Where is they key?" he repeated.

"Oh, come on. Do you not understand?" Jack rolled his eyes in annoyance. "She already said that she didn't know, which either means she really doesn't know, or she doesn't want to tell you. Face with it."

Pitch suddenly blasted him with his power, sending the winter guardian flying backwards. Jack hit the ground with a thud and grunted in pain.

_Well, that hurt._

"You should stay out of this, Frost. This is between the two of us," the nightmare king said darkly. "Now, I ask you again," he looked back at Elsa with a scowl, "_where is the key_?"

"I don't know," Elsa replied, holding her head high.

"We both know that is not the truth."

Jack staggered to his feet and leaned on his staff for support. "Like hell we're gonna tell you that, Pitch. Uhm… what are we talking about again, Elsa?"

"Stay the hell out of this, Frost!" both Pitch and Elsa yelled at him in unision, tossing stern, cold glares towards him, which caused the guardian to cringe slightly.

"Alright, alright… I'll-I'll be quiet, okay?" Gulping uneasily, Jack cautiously raised his hands up in defense, taking a step backwards just in case either of them struck him again, and he knew that they were both powerful… maybe too powerful. _Biological or not, they really _are_ brother and sister_, he mused.

While Pitch rolled his eyes and groaned quietly in annoyance, Elsa smacked her face with her palm, shaking her head silently, one hand resting on the swell of her hip.

_This is why I _always_ work alone._

"So, you chose the guardians now? Over your own brother?" Pitch hissed.

"I did not opt for this!" Elsa practically yelled, her face red in anger and frustration. "I did not choose anyone over you, nor will I ever agree to side with you. But you know that I have no choice… no saying in this."

"No, Elsa. You have a choice. You've always had a choice, sister. You have plenty of choices… you're just too afraid to make up your own mind… do as _our father_ has always wanted you to and become a guardian of the Earth… take your seat back in the Ethereal Court and continue to nail yourself down to a dull life surrounded by people who would never accept you… maybe lock yourself away in the Golden Library with old Ansgar like you used to, isolate yourself from the world… or maybe," his eyes darkened, "continue your life as a wanderer on Earth, where no one knows who you are, no one to be your friend, no one to love you… where you will always be haunted by your past…"

"_Stop!_" It rolled out of Elsa's lips barely in a whisper. Pain was visible in her eyes as old memories of two hundred years wandering on this planet like a shadow came rushing back to her.

Jack watched as her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides and her lips curled into a snarl. She was furious, alright.

"_Do not_ talk about my past like you understand how much pain I've had to endure," she spat. "Do not call me your sister and act like you actually pity me. If you are my brother, then where were you when I needed you most? Where were you when my world crumbled and shattered and all I needed was the presence of someone I love – or at least used to love? Where were you when I called to you, _screamed and begged_ for you to come?"

"And where was _Father_, hm?" Pitch fired back. "Did he drag you all the way into this mess? I know you still communicate with him. He told you to work with the Guardians, didn't he? I know that many times you have called out to him and begging for help, but did he answer? No. I'm sure he didn't. He just let you suffer. But you still work for him. He's never there for you and you still work for him. Him and the _guardians_."

"I do not work for anyone! I'm doing this because I want to protect this planet from _you_!"

"Do not change the subject! Admit it, Elsa. There's no one else in this world who loves you… even _your father_."

Jack saw Elsa's shoulder rising and falling deeply as she drew in and out deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

"That makes the two of us, then," he heard her quietly whisper, her head bowing low.

"But we're never going to be on the same boat," Elsa said firmly, holding her chin high and looking straight into Pitch's eyes. "You told me two days ago that I still have once last chance to choose whether or not I am going to join you. Now, I will make my final choice – you told me that I have one, didn't you?"

"I will never join your side. And that's my choice."

Pitch was fuming, but he didn't show. "Fine then," he growled. "From now on, you and I are enemies."

"We are no longer kin."

Those words hit her like a death-blow and she thought she was going to topple over. For a moment, Elsa regretted greatly for making that choice and desperately wanted to take it back, but she knew although it was a hard decision, it was a right one to make. So the princess of Caelum swallowed her tears, kept a straight face and stood tall, holding her head high like how a princess should do, her ice cold blue eyes looking at the man she once called her brother into his burning amber orbs.

"Then so be it," she said coldly, her face showing no emotion. Jack looked at her with shock. He couldn't believe it. One moment she looked so hurt and the next… she was back to her 'Ice Queen' side again.

"Very well. So be it," he repeated her words. "Oh, and," a sly, evil grin suddenly stretched his lips, "have fun."

In a blink of an eye, the nightmare king had vanished, leaving only Elsa and Jack alone… along with his spawns surrounding them, of course. That was what worried them.

The two stood back to back. Jack raised his staff in defense and Elsa gripped her dagger tightly in one hand, the other was outstretched before her, her finger tips glowing blue with magic as she was ready to strike at the horses made of black sand circling them both.

"So…" Jack started. "I have your back, you have my back?"

Elsa ignored him and sent a blast of ice towards the spawns. Some of them managed to dodge her attack, but some, well, they weren't so lucky and ended up being a heap of shattered ice on the ground. Pitch's spawns continued to lunge at her, but Elsa did not back away. Jack watched her in awe as she raced forward and attacked them, stabbing the horses with her dagger and freezing them just by one touch of her hand. She sure had some skills.

"I'll take that as a yes, then," he chuckled and swung his staff, freezing the horses charging at him. More dark horses came. Jack smirked. Just as those spawns were about to be able to reach him, the winter spirit disappeared from their sight. The horses halted and searched around for their target.

"Hey, up here."

The spawns looked up and saw the guardian of fun hovering above them with a huge grin on his face.

"Howdy." The next moment, all he knew was that they had collapsed onto the ground, frozen. Jack looked in Elsa's direction to see her standing a few yards away from him, panting heavily, hundreds of fragments of shattered ice scattering the ground around her.

He landed beside her and playfully leaned his form on his staff. "Well, that was easy. I guess the coast is all clear now, eh?"

His smile immediately dropped as he saw red spots lurking in the darkness of the woods slowly emerging from the shadows… and finally revealing themselves to be a pack of wolves made of black sand.

"Spoke too soon," Jack said. The wolves slowly approached them, glaring at the two with predatory blood-red eyes. Elsa and Jack looked around, trying to search for a way out, only to find that they were completely trapped.

"Well, damn it."

The wolves lunged at them. Elsa quickly thrust her arms up. Ice spikes rose from the ground and impaled the dark creatures. Jack froze them with his ice, but the more they killed, the more those wolves came.

Elsa was beginning to wear out, Jack noticed. Unlike him, she had her limits. She was still a human, and she was a girl. They needed to find a way out of here.

Then he came up with something.

"Hey, Elsa," Jack began. "I got an idea."

"If you are thinking of flying off, Frost, it won't work out because if you do, these wolves are going to transform into a flying monster that won't stop following you until it has knocked you out. Trust me, I know – I've tried this before. My advice is to stay on the ground," Elsa said.

"Well, damn it. I thought that was gonna work. So how are we supposed to get out of this?" Jack asked, turning his head around to look at her.

"There is a way," Elsa replied, throwing her dagger at a wolf that tried to bite her head off and freezing another one charging towards her. "But I'm not sure whether it's going to work." She glanced over her shoulder to face him. "I've never tried it with another person before, I've… Frost, _watch out!_" she shouted, her eyes widened in horror.

Jack whipped his head around to see a wolf lunging at him in a blinding speed. He raised his staff in attempt to brace himself but the creature snatched it away from his hands and latched its fangs on him. Jack cried out as he felt a sharp pain on his left shoulders, and the next second, he was pinned on the ground, atop him was a bloodthirsty animal that was a spawn of his greatest enemy who wanted him dead. Then, suddenly, the red-eyed wolf was turned into solid ice and shattered into millions of pieces.

Jack's vision became blurry. He suddenly felt something on his left shoulder where the wolf had bitten him… it was cold... and when he touched it, it was wet and a deep shade of crimson. Blood.

_I'm bleeding? How? It's impossible._

He heard an angelic voice calling out to him, repeating his name over and over again. And he saw a pair of brilliant blue eyes staring down at him.

Then, the last thing the guardian of fun saw was darkness.


	8. Chapter Seven: An Unexpected Invitation

An Unexpected Invitation

Anna hummed to herself as she stepped out of the bathroom, already having finished her shower and got dressed for the day. The young redhead was very happy this morning because tomorrow the winter break would start, which meant Christmas was drawing near, and she absolutely loved Christmas. And the second reason was that she and Kristoff would be going out for lunch.

Suddenly, her stomach growled loudly and she winced slightly. _I must be hungrier than I thought._

Anna grabbed her stuff when she passed her room and made her way to the kitchen.

"Morning."

The redhead woman shrieked in surprise and dropped the bag she was carrying in her hand. "Elsa, what are you doing here?" Anna practically yelled, staring wide-eyed at her roommate who was casually sitting at the dining table in the kitchen with a piece of paper in one hand and a cup of tea in another.

"You scared me to death! Don't do that again, will you? Oh, damn it! Please, give my poor heart a break! You're gonna give me a heart attack some day!" Anna shouted, bracing a hand over her heart, when Elsa merely snickered at her.

"Wait, when did you come back? And how did you get in?" Anna asked, bending to pick up her books and walked towards the table.

"I came back at about 2:00 a.m., or so I think. And of course I get in through the main door. You thought I climbed through the window?" Elsa raised an eyebrow, her lips quirking up in a smirk.

"No, what I mean is that how did you manage to get in? You forgot your keys at home."

"I picked the lock."

Anna was speechless. "Oh." Elsa only smirked and took another sip of her tea.

"Anyway, I made you some coffee. It might not be as good as you do, but I think it's not bad. And I was too lazy to make some breakfast this morning, so I bought some chocolate donuts for both of us. It's a little cold by now."

"It's alright. You know, I haven't had chocolate donuts for a while, or anything with chocolate," Anna smiled, throwing herself down on the chair across the table from Elsa and grabbed a donut in the plate in front of her. "Mm, this is good. Have you eaten yet?" she asked, noticing that the food looked to be still untouched.

"No. I was waiting for you to finish getting ready," Elsa set the paper she'd been reading down on the table and took a donut for herself.

"Wait," Anna said, frowning. She leaned forward and swept Elsa's bangs from her forehead, revealing a scratch on the side of her head, the skin around it was severely bruised. "What happened to you?"

"Oh, um," Elsa brushed Anna's hand away and touched her forehead, wincing slightly as it stung a bit. It was a small injury from last night when she was hit by Pitch. "I fell and hit my head," she lied.

"Uhuh, right. I'm not buying it."

"I just got into a little trouble, that's all. Nothing to worry about."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble? Elsa, who hit you?"

"It's nothing, really. Don't worry about it."

"Fine. But if I found out who did this to you, I'd kill him. You look awful, Elsa. Where have you been?"

"Philadelphia, I already told you that."

"And what, pray tell, were you doing there? You look like you… well, you look tired and exhausted. You know, maybe you shouldn't go to school today. It's winter break tomorrow anyway. Stay home."

"It's just that I didn't have a very good night. But don't worry, I'm as right as rain. And like hell I'm going to miss the last lessons before the holiday."

"Whatever you say then. What's that?" Anna looked at the paper, still nibbling on her donut.

"Just a letter from a friend of mine."

"Oh? A friend? Is it your boyfriend?" Anna winked playfully at her friend. Elsa only rolled her eyes. "What does it say?" She grabbed the letter and read it, but frowned.

"Uh… Elsa? There's nothing written on this paper."

Elsa smirked. Of course Anna couldn't see the words. This was something Elsa had come up with. You could only see the words with the help of a bit of sunlight and if you did, you had to understand the language. Because not very many people on Earth could read the language of the Moon… actually no one could read at all save for Elsa, or maybe one or two exceptions… if those people were still alive.

Elsa took the letter back from Anna. "That is because you are not reading it properly."

"Why?"

"There's no way I'm telling you my secret."

"So it's from a secret boyfriend?"

"Anna…"

"What? I have one… I used to have another, actually… so why haven't you got one? Come on, Elsa, you're twenty-one and such a hot girl like that. You got plenty of admirers-"

"I do not."

"Yes, you do, because don't think that I haven't seen guys eyeing you."

"Anna, I don't have a love interest right now, and I don't wish to."

"Why?"

Elsa closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "Because I'm through with love."

Anna frowned. "Oh. What happened?"

The blonde woman exhaled deeply, trying to blink away the tear sparkling in her eye. "'The course of true love never did run smooth'," Elsa quoted. She took a sip of her tea then asked, "The winter break starts tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," Anna nodded, taking a large bite of her donut. "I think I'm gonna stay in Connecticut this Christmas. I don't think that me not coming home for one Christmas will kill my parents. So what about you?"

Elsa fidgeted with her cup. "I don't know, Anna," she sighed. "I have nowhere to go now. I can't go back home… I can't even look at my father right now. And as for my brother, he doesn't even consider me as a family anymore."

Anna gasped. "That's horrible. What happened? Did you two get into a fight or something?"

"Sort of."

"Did you go to see him last night?"

"No. But he showed up and confronted me."

"Did he hit you?"

Elsa was silent. She immediately looked away and bowed her head, avoiding Anna's eyes, but the redhead didn't give up.

"Elsa, did your brother strike you?"

Finally, Elsa nodded quietly. Anna furrowed her brows angrily. "That bastard."

"Anna, please. It's my fault. Don't blame him."

"No. He has no right to treat you like that! You're his sister!"

"Half-sister."

"Still, you are family!"

Elsa snorted. "Go and tell him that."

"Alright, I will. Wait, where is he anyway?"

"I don't know. He lurks around this world like a shadow, a ghost. He can be anywhere."

The two of them remained quiet for a moment, silently eating their breakfast.

"You know, you can stay with us," Anna suddenly spoke up.

"What?"

"Me and Kristoff. You can stay right here in Connecticut with us. Oh, and I actually asked Kristoff to come over and stay with us in our apartment because he's got nowhere to stay, too. Apparently Oaken's gonna spend Christmas with his brother in the west. So I told Kristoff to come over. Don't worry, we won't do anything… inappropriate. He agreed to sleep on the sofa."

"No."

"What? No?"

"He's not going to sleep on the sofa. It's too small for him. I'll make some arrangements for the guy. You know, I think it'll be sweet… the three of us together and such."

Anna gasped loudly. "Wait, that means…?"

"I agree to stay in Connecticut and celebrate Christmas with you and Kristoff and for your boyfriend to come over and stay with us during the holiday? Of course yes! It will be amazing!"

"Oh my Gosh!" Anna squealed, leaning forward and hugged her friend tightly over the small dining table. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"No, thank _you_, Anna," Elsa smiled, a tear falling down her cheek. "You know… it's been years since I celebrated Christmas with somebody."

"Really?" Anna pulled away and sat back in her seat.

"Yeah," Elsa nodded sadly. It was true. She had been alone every Christmas for fifteen years. Her last real Christmas was when she was still in Philadelphia. Ever since, Christmas had been something meaningless to her. To Elsa, it used to be a wonderful time. Gathering around a warm fire with her family, telling each other stories, singing songs with each other, surrounded by your family, friends, the people you love… and then there was the tall, beautiful Christmas tree… presents and gifts… happiness and joy… smiles and laughter… everything. She had missed the feeling so much.

And then there was love. How funny that such simple word could cause her so much mixed feelings… excitement, happiness, content… caused butterflies to flutter in her stomach and warmth bursting in her chest, spreading all over her body… but at the same time it brought her grief, sorrow, angst, loss when the word 'love' revived the painful memories of her troubled past… of a life she once had and lost.

Two hundred years… two hundred years living on Earth, she had endured countless pain and hardships, had suffered loss and sorrow… But then, wasn't it her punishment? If only…

"Elsa!" Anna's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Hm?"

"You zoned out again."

"Oh… I did?"

"Yes. What were you thinking about?"

Under the table, Elsa reached a trembling hand into the pocket of her coat, where an old golden locket she treasured so much laid.

"Nothing," Elsa shook her head, forcing a smile to her lips. Tears glinted in her eyes. "It's just… I'm glad to have you as a friend, Anna."

The woman with strawberry blonde hair smiled. "Me, too."

"Anyway, come on, finish your breakfast. I'll walk you to school today."

"I thought you don't have any classes until 8:30. It's only 6:45 now."

"I want to walk you there, and besides, I'm going to the library, anyway."

"You and your books… maybe you should find a library to marry instead of a man."

Elsa nearly choked on her food, and both women burst out in laughter.

* * *

Jack's eyes slowly fluttered open. The guardian blinked… once, twice… until his eyes had adjusted to the light. He tried to sit up, but winced slightly as he felt a pain jolting through the wound on his left shoulder and fell back onto the soft mattress under him.

_Wait! Mattress?_

Slowly, Jack propped himself up on his uninjured arm, realising that he was shirtless and wearing a pair of cotton pants. His wound had been tended to and carefully bandaged. He looked around himself, confusion and astonishment drawn on his face. The room around him was huge, and stunning. The ceiling was painted white, as well as the walls, and there was a beautiful chandelier hanging in the center of it. Across the room from where he was lying, there was a beautiful hearth decorated with ornate carvings, a bloom of fire smouldering in it. In front of the hearth were a couple of lounges and a coffee table. There were two large windows on either side of the fireplace, the golden daylight streaming through the transparent glass. On the left was a beautiful wooden wardrobe, next to it a small door, and on the other side there was an ornate double door. The room also had several pictures hung on the walls, but Jack didn't pay much attention to them. This place was beautiful. But he had no idea where it was and how he managed to get there.

_What is this place? How long have I been out?_

Jack spotted a grandfather clock standing to the right of the fireplace. It read 4:26, so it must be afternoon at the moment, which meant he had been unconscious for over twenty hours.

Jack got out of the bed and noticed that there was a pair of clothing neatly folded on the nightstand at the side of the bed – a dark blue shirt and black pants. They obviously weren't his clothes, and looked too formal to his liking, but it was better than nothing, so he slipped them on. The shirt was a little too big for him and the sleeves were a bit long, so he rolled them up past his elbows. There were also a pair of shoes for him, but he ignored them. Who needed shoes, anyway?

Suddenly, Jack felt something… two, actually. The first thing was that his stomach had just growled very loudly. It meant that he was hungry. For the first time in forever, Jack was hungry. Immortals never got hungry! Something was off.

But if the first thing surprised Jack, then the second one terrified him. He felt something odd in his chest. A pulse. A heartbeat. He felt his heart beating, and it was beating faster as he grew more nervous; he could practically hear it pounding against his ribs. What was happening to him?

_Wait… where's my staff?_

Panicking, Jack searched around for the crooked wooden staff he always had by his side by saw no sign of it anywhere in the room.

_Oh no._

Hoping that he would have more luck when finding his staff outside, Jack stepped out of the room and into an empty hallway, only illuminated by the faint light pouring from the windows. Armours stood lined up in along the hallway, solemn and strict. There appeared to be no people around. Jack called out several times, but no one answered. The only thing he heard was the echoes of his own voice ringing in the empty hallway.

He realised that he was standing on the corner of a corridor. After a few moments debating which way to go, he chose the

The winter spirit strode along the hallway. He saw a door, quite similar to the one leading to the room he was in earlier. He tried to open it, but it was locked. He went to another door, and another, but got the same result. Every room in this hall was locked. There was no way to get inside.

Suddenly, Jack heard the sounds of music… faint but audible. It sounded like someone was playing the violin, and it was beautiful – a sweet, gentle and harmonic melody, so soft like the caress of the wind, so emotional… but so sad and full of sorrow.

Jack followed the sound of the music. It led him upstairs, then to the second room in the hall. He was standing in front of an ornate double door, with decorations pretty much the same as the other ones downstairs, only more sophisticated and more beautiful. The door stood slightly ajar. Curious, Jack peaked inside. It looked like a music room, illuminated by only the bright firelight burning in the hearth and the faint light of the sun pouring through the large window on the other side of the room. The walls were painted a warm brown colour and the floor was made of wood. There were various kinds of music instruments in there, from the grand piano in a corner of the room to a small flute hung on the wall.

In the center of the room, a woman stood, her back facing him, a violin rested in the crook of her neck. She wore a snow white dress with off-shoulder sleeves, exposing a little of her back. The bodice clung to her torso, hugging her curves perfectly. The skirt flowed around her lower body and reached the ground, trailing a bit on the floor. Her platinum blonde hair was pulled up in an elegant, sophisticated twisted bun with tiny white flowers pinned in it. A pear necklace hung on her delicate neck, emphasizing her porcelain skin even more.

Jack continued to stare at the beauty before him and get lost in the beautiful music she was performing. Moments later, the song came to an end, much to his own disappointment, but the woman had yet to remove the violin from her shoulder. She stood there silently, not a single movement, as if she had been frozen.

He watched as her shoulders rose and fall in a deep sigh. Then she spoke.

"What are you doing here, Frost?" Elsa asked quietly, her voice though gentle still held the same coldness and despisal when speaking to him.

Jack flinched, realised that he'd been caught. "Um… well, I was just… wandering around." _How the hell did she know I was here?_

"I saw your shadow on the floor," Elsa said, placing her violin back in its case.

Jack looked to the right and understood what she was talking about. Then he looked up at her with shock. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

"Telepathy," she replied, placing the violin case back to where it was supposed to be. "It's one of my special abilities."

"Hold on a sec, you've known what I thought all the time?" Jack shouted, fully stepping into the room.

Elsa rolled her eyes and turned around to face him. "Including what you think about me? Yes," she arched an eyebrow, folding her arms over her chest. Jack looked at her nervously and swallowed the lump in his throat, while trying to ignore how attractive she looked in that dress.

"My eyes are up here, Frost."

Jack flushed a deep crimson colour, but he managed to regain his composture. He cleared his throat and asked, "What is this place? Why did you bring me here?"

"Mind that tone of yours, Frost. I brought you here and treated your wound. At least act more grateful," Elsa shot him a stern glare and strode past him. He followed her to the room next to it but before he went through the doors, they were shut right at his face.

_Wait for me out there. Keep talking_, he heard a voice inside his head.

"Now you're invading my mind?"

_I wouldn't put it as invading. I am merely entering your mind without permission._

"Then what's the difference?!" Jack yelled, and although he couldn't see her, he was sure that she was wearing a smug smirk on her lips. He groaned and tousled his hair. "So what is this place?"

_An old castle which used to belong to a grand duke somewhere in the north of Norway._

"You're messing up with me, aren't you?"

_Now you realise?_

"Are you always like this?"

_Like what?_

"Sassy, arrogant, rude, irritating?"

_Yes._

"You're unbelievable."

_Thanks for the compliment._

"Where exactly is this place? Why did you bring me here?"

_The furthest point to the north in Norway. I brought you here because first of all, you were severely injured, though I wish my father didn't insist that I work with you and the other guardians so I could leave you to death last night. And the second reason is that this castle of mine is the best place where I can hide you without Pitch knowing._

"_Your_ castle?"

_Yes. Well, sort of. Is there a problem?_

"No, no. Nothing. Um, so do you know where my staff is?"

_Hidden. There are rules in this castle, and one of them is no magic outside the training field._

"Training field?"

_For the guards, and for myself. They need practice, and I need entertainment._

Jack laughed. "Entertainment?"

_What?_

"I thought you were a princess. Normal princesses don't use combat as an entertainment, ya know?"

_Am I a normal princess?_

"Uh… I guess not."

"There! You got the idea," Jack heard a voice behind him and yelped in surprise. He turned around sharply to see Elsa standing there, donned in a new outfit, with her arms crossed over her chest and leaning her back against the wall. Her hair was no longer in its sophisticated bun, but in her signature braid swept over her shoulder. The stunning white dress she was wearing earlier was replaced by her usual outfit, black shirt with long sleeves, black pants and leather boots, a dagger strapped to her belt, but she wore no cloak and was carrying a brown leather satchel with her. The top button of her shirt were left unfastened, exposing a bit of her chest, enough that he could see the silver pendant of a crescent moon entwined with a snowflake nestling just a little beneath her collarbones.

"How did you get here?" Jack looked between her and the door, eyes wide in shock and confusion.

"Teleportation, one of the special abilities I have. Now come," she commanded him and started walking. "I expected you to be unconscious for at least an hour. You are very lucky, do you know that? The demon wolf that bit you… its fangs were poisoned. If you were a mortal, you would have died in less than a second. But, since you are an immortal, you'll live… unfortunately." She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Thank God," Jack smirked.

"_However_," Elsa continued, glancing over a shoulder briefly and sending him a blank look, "you will turn into a human for three days."

"What?" the winter spirit practically exclaimed. He quickened his pace and fell into line with her. "You mean I'll be a normal human for _three whole days_?"

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Relax, you big baby. The only thing you'll lose is your immortality, and it's not permanently, so there is nothing to worry about. Your powers and also appearance will remain the same. The only difference is that people can see you and you have to be careful not to be killed. It's just for three days. It's not the end of the world."

She opened the door and told him to come inside. Jack sighed and did as he was told.

"Sit on the bed and remove your shirt. I'll change your bandage," Elsa ordered, placing her satchel in the nightstand. Seeing how Jack was struggling to take it off, she asked, "Need some help?"

"No, thanks." After a few moments, Jack finally managed to get rid of the shirt, exposing his bare torso. "What happened to my clothes, anyway?"

"Marie brought them to laundry," Elsa said, taking the necessary things out from her satchel.

Jack blushed. "Please don't tell me she undressed me."

"No, Jackson, she didn't." Jack sighed in relief. "I did." His eyes widened as he gulped nervously. Elsa saw his reaction and rolled her eyes. "I'm a doctor – or at least I used to be – so stop acting like a child. I only did what needed to be done. And your clothes smelled horrible, so I told Marie to wash them."

As she spoke, Elsa sat down beside him and carefully unwrapped the bandages on his shoulder. The wound had stopped bleeding and was healing faster than she expected.

"It's alright now, but it will leave a scar," she said.

"That's fine to me," Jack shrugged, but winced as pain shot through his wound.

"Sit still," Elsa commanded, glaring at him. Jack decided to be a good patient and let her do her work. When she finished, Elsa stood up and tossed the old, bloody bandages in the trash.

"Put your shirt back on, and also the shoes. And it's not a request."

"As you wish, milady," Jack said, rolling his eyes and throwing the shirt back on. However, those simple words seemed to have startled Elsa. She immediately whipped her head around upon hearing him and asked, "What did you say?"

"I said, 'As you wish,'" he repeated, buttoning his shirt up. "Is there a problem?"

"No, nothing. I… Oh, forget it. Finish getting dress then follow me. I'll get you something to eat. I know you're famished."

"Done," Jack said, fastening the last button. Elsa gave him a look, then he sighed heavily. "Right, the shoes. I remember."

"And tuck your shirt in your pants."

"Yes, Ma'am."

* * *

"You know, I didn't know you can cook, and I didn't expect you to be this good," Jack commented.

"What? You think I can't cook because I'm a princess?" she arched an eyebrow at him. Jack had to admit that she was a great cook and the food was delicious, but the meal had been dull because either company was silent all the time.

"Well, normal princesses usually have servants to cook for them, not do it by themselves."

"Am I a normal princess?"

"Nah."

"Exactly."

Jack watched in awe as all of a sudden, the dishes on the table started floating in the air and then flew towards the sink. He was extremely confused, but when he saw the smirk on Elsa's lips, he immediately understood what was going on.

"Is this your doing?"

"Yes," she said, rising from her seat and walking towards the sink to wash the dishes.

"Just what exactly can you do? I mean, what are your powers?"

"I was born with four special abilities: cryokinesis, telekinesis, teleportation and telepathy. However, I wasn't born with immortality or eternal youth like my father and my people, because my mother is human. Despite having magical powers, I cannot have the eternal life of an immortal. I age and die like a mortal."

"But why are you still here?"

"Because I am frozen in time."

"What?"

"Long story. Maybe for another time."

"So," Jack started, "You live here?"

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"I live everywhere. I travel around the Earth. You can say that I'm a wanderer. And I have been one for two hundred years. An aimless wanderer."

"Why? Isn't this your home?"

"It used to be."

"Why? What happened?"

"None of your business, Frost," Elsa snapped, refusing to meet his eyes. Silence enveloped them. Jack felt extremely nervous and uncomfortable and decided that he should change the subject.

"Is there anyone else living here besides you, Bernhard and… um…"

"Marie? She's the head servant. Other than us, there are only about twenty maids and fifty guards. But since it's almost Christmas so I permitted them to return home. However, Bernhard, Marie and several guards decided to stay here for Christmas."

"Will you join them?" he asked.

"No, unfortunately. I received an invitation from a friend of mine earlier today. She wanted me to celebrate Christmas with her and her boyfriend," she replied. Having finished washing them, Elsa put the dishes back in the cupboard and dried her hands.

"So you won't come to Burgess?"

Elsa froze. "Why would I?"

"To visit the Benettes. I… sort of overheard Jamie's mother asking you to come over on Christmas," he rubbed his head nervously. "Don't think me as a stalker or that I eavesdropped, I just heard it when I came across the kitchen."

Elsa's hand shakily made its way to her lips, her fingers tracing them nervously. Her mind wandered back to the event from the previous night. She recalled how Harry had kissed her, the feel of his lips caressing hers. It was… good, enticing even, but at the same time it scared her. Not that she was scared of the act, but what it brought to her had frightened her. It was a complicated mix. She felt relieved, because what she had had to bottle up for over fifteen years had been released, but then there was regret, because although she had enjoyed it, she knew what they did was wrong, and then there was something else, something she had not felt for a long time… a familiar yet foreign warmth burning inside her, a fire she'd been holding back for nearly two hundred years.

"Elsa. Elsa, what's wrong?" Jack asked worriedly, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. But suddenly, in a blink of an eye, a hand shot out and caught his wrist, and the next moment all he knew was that he was pinned down on the floor with Elsa straddling his torso and pressing a knife against his throat, her furious ice blue eyes glaring daggers down at him.

"You touch me again, and I will kill you," she growled at him, slamming the knife down. The blade of the knife was plunged deep into the ground and just narrowedly missed his ear. Still glaring coldly at the winter spirit, Elsa got up from him then vanished into the air, leaving a very confused Jack lying panting on the ground, still recovering from shock.


	9. Chapter Eight: Visitor

A/N: Sorry for not giving you guys anything for half a month. The thing is my cousin who owns the first 6 and a half chapters of this story just had to suddenly dump the responsibility of continuing it onto me. Well, not all, actually. We're co-authors, but I do most of the work now.

Oh, I'm rambling again. So from now on I – Tempest – will take over the story from my younger cousin – Storm – and please take it easy on me, will ya? This is my first time writing anything in English, and I didn't even like Frozen or Rise of the Guardians at first! But then she just had to drag me into this mess. And I was stuck with the goddamn chapter for two whole weeks! Ugh!

Well, last chapter was a little nasty in the end, wasn't it? And it sucked, if you guys ask me. It's what both Storm and I agree on. We weren't just in the mood for it at the time and just wanted to get over with it.

Anyway, enjoy this one! And tell me what ya think!

* * *

Visitor

Elsa nervouslly paced back and forth in the castle garden, constantly combing her fingers through her bangs and brushing them back, causing her hair to get a little messy. The girl had been like this for nearly an hour. She couldn't believe she just did that to Jack Frost. Well, it wasn't like she pitied the guy, she never liked him anyway, but she couldn't believe that she threatened him with her dagger, and for a brief second, she couldn't control herself. Had she lost it, the blade might have sunk much deeper.

Shuddering, she pulled herself out of the thought and swallowed nervously. Snaking her arms around her waist, Elsa paced in circles in the garden, mumbling to herself, unaware that around her, snow was beginning to fall lightly.

"Get it together, Elsa," she whispered. "Calm down! Everything is perfectly fine. You didn't hurt anyone. No blood has been shed."

_You know that is not true. Lives had been taken by your hands before and you know it. You were born a murderer._

"I am not a murderer!" Elsa shouted, cradling her head in her hands and trying to ignore the voice inside her.

_Believe whatever you want, but you cannot deny the murderous side in you. You are a monster!_

"I am not a monster!" Screaming, the girl swept her arm to a side angrily and shouted a curse. A ring of ice spikes suddenly rose from the ground. Elsa gasped sharply in horror and jumped backwards, hands clutched tightly to her chest.

_See? You're a monster, Elsa._

"Shut up," the girl groaned. Sighing, she walked towards a nearby tree and leaned her back heavily against it, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths to compose herself.

"A broken mirror cannot be mended," Elsa murmured to herself. A very wise person had once told her so, a long, long time ago. But it wasn't until recently did she truly understand what it meant.

"A broken mirror cannot be mended," she repeated the phrase once again in a quiet whisper, placing a hand on her chest, over her heart.

_Can a broken heart be healed? Or is it just like a broken mirror?_

Someone cleared their throat softly. "Madame?"

Elsa turned her head to see a plump, old woman with pepper hair and warm hazel eyes dressed in a black dress standing several yards away from her. "Yes, Marie? What is it?" she asked in French, straightening herself up.

The maid made her way to her mistress and glanced at the ice spikes on the ground. "Is everything alright, Madame? Are you okay? You seem stressed."

"I'm fine, Marie. Thank you for your concern. Now, I trust that you wish to say something?"

"Yes, Madame. Well, two things, actually. One is that I am having a little trouble with our guest. I have tried to do as you ordered – keep him in one place – but he never seems to sit still."

"That's alright, Marie. Just make sure that he stays indoors and keep an eye on him. Don't let the man do anything stupid."

"Yes, Madame. And, apologies for my curiosity but, may I ask, Madame, who is that man?" the maid inquired. It was a question that had been nagging her and the whole staff in this castle since yesterday when the mistress returned with a strange unconscious and injured man with her in the middle of the night, then demanded that he was seen to. That had raised many gossips among them.

"Well… you could say that he's, um, an acquaintance of mine," Elsa replied hesitantly, then quietly added, "Hardly."

Fortunately, Marie didn't seem to hear it. She merely nodded musingly and went on. "I see. And, about the second matter, you have a visitor, Madame."

"A visitor?" Elsa's eyes widened. That was a first. There had not been visitors to this castle for years, not the ones uninvited. "At such hour?" she looked at the sky and saw that the sun was setting.

"Indeed, Madame. A visitor came to our doors demanding to speak to you. She is very persistent, and says that there is an urgent matter she wishes to discuss with you privately."

"She?"

"Yes, Madame. A woman, probably in her late twenties, if these old eyes of mine are still as sharp as they used to be. Forgive me for judging people, Madame, but this lady was dressed rather oddly and quite old-fashioned. She seems a little strange, Madame. And… she claims to be your niece."

* * *

Jack wandered around in the castle, still trying to find his staff. His legs were beginning to wobble but he had yet to see any sign of it anywhere! And he'd only looked in one wing! How large was this place by the way? And it seemed like most rooms in this huge castle were locked! What was the point of having so many rooms if they weren't used and remained locked all the time?

Jack came across several servants in his way, but apparently they didn't speak English, and their native language happened to be one of the languages he wasn't familiar with.

"Where on earth could it be?" he muttered. It was all because of that girl Elsa! What was wrong with her anyway? One minute she was fine and he thought they could get along, but then the next moment all he knew was that he was pinned on the floor with a razor-sharp knife to his throat and almost lost his ear.

But then he realised he did own her, didn't he? Although he knew she didn't like him in the least, she did bring him here – whatever place it was – and tended to his wound. Speaking of which, the injury was healing well, according to Elsa, but it could be a nuisance sometimes.

And he was coping well with the idea of being turned into a human for three days. Of course, it sounded all so terrifying at first, but he thought it might be actually pretty cool. To be normal for a short time, to be seen without having to be believed in, to actually being able to communicate with other people… wow! That was all he'd been dreaming of! And he still had his powers! How cool was that?

However, he must find his staff first, for without it, it would be almost just as same as not possessing any power at all.

Jack groaned once again. He swore he had crossed his hallway before, or several times actually. Again, how big was this place? And who on earth designed it?! This wasn't a castle – it was a maze!

He wished there was someone around to ask for direction. But, as Elsa said, there were only less than ten people in this keep, excluding him and her, and those people were in who-knew-where! The chances of running into them in this _enormous_ castle is probably less than 5%.

When his hope was beginning to waver, he suddenly spotted a middle-aged woman approaching him, whom he guessed was a maid. The winter spirit – or winter spirit turned human – cracked a smile and sighed.

"Thank goodness," he breathed. "Um, excuse me, Ma'am… could you-"

"Ah, Monsieur Overland," she said in a French accent. Jack frowned. _Monsieur Overland?_ "Finally I've found you!" the woman grinned. "_Excusez-moi_, Monsieur, but would you please follow me? The lady requires your presence at once!"

"The lady?" Jack frowned. "Oh, you mean Elsa?"

"_Oui_," she nodded.

Jack rolled his eyes in annoyance. "What does that girl want now? Fine, lead the way!"

The maid raised her brow, shocked at the boldness and disrespect in his words. No one had ever dared to speak to the lady of this castle in such manner before, not even herself who had served her ever since she was a mere young lass and had become a very, very dear friend to the lady. Marie began to be more curious and confused as to who this mysterious man was and how he was related to the lady. However, she felt that she should not pry and gestured for the white-haired man to follow her.

"There is someone – a guest of Her Grace, as a matter of fact – who wishes to speak to you," she said.

"Oh? Who is that?" he inquired.

"I'm afraid I do not know myself, Monsieur," the maid replied. "It is not my place to pry, either. However, it seems that our guest is related to the lady."

"You don't have many visitors, do you?" Jack mused.

"No, I'm afraid we don't, Monsieur. Especially guests of our lady. She allows us to have our families and friends visit us here, or receive the homeless and beggars into our doors when they are in need. But never before have I or any of the staff seen Her Grace bringing any guest here."

"So I take it it's unusual for me to be here?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Are you, too, related to our lady somehow, Monsieur? Or are you an acquaintance of her?"

"I dunno. Maybe, um, an acquaintance?" Jack winced at how it sounded like a question. "And you don't call Elsa by her name. Why is that?"

"The lady has many names, Monsieur Overland, and she doesn't feel very comfortable being called by her last name, but we cannot address her by her first name, either – it is considered disrespectful, as we are merely servants in this castle. So we simply call her by her title."

"That's… a little old-fashioned, and strict, don't you think?"

"Her Grace is a very traditional woman, Monsieur, and she likes everything to be in order."

"I see. And please call me Jack. I don't really like all these formalities and stuff. So, what's your name? You're from, uh, France, right?"

"My name is Marie, and I indeed hail from France. I have lived and worked in this very castle since I was a small child. My mother was a widow who had to struggle to raise me and my brothers. The lady found us and brought our family here, offering us jobs as staff in this keep. My mother worked as a kitchen maid. My siblings and I helped with the chores. We were provided everything we needed, and our lady was even kind enough to give us a proper education. My brothers have all left to build their own lives, which the lady encouraged them to do, but I couldn't bear to leave, so I chose to remain here. I chose to serve the lady. And I've been doing so for fifty years."

"Wow. Interesting story. So, you know Elsa well, right?"

"The lady and I are quite close. She considers me as a friend and I her."

"You know who she is, right? Do you know that she isn't… normal?"

"I am well aware of my mistress's special abilities and… conditions. All the staff here know and have sworn to keep it secret. I assume you know, too?"

"Yeah. So this is her castle?"

"Our lady practically owns this land, Monsieur – I mean Jack, including the castle. It was built by a duke who was the son of a Norwegian princess in the 18th century. The lady came upon this land about a century later, in the middle of the 19th century. She, um, inherited this castle, in a manner of speaking."

"Inherited? She's like… the lord's daughter or something? Or was she adopted?" Jack was confused. From what North told him, Elsa's mother was a commoner, and her father was from the Moon! How could she have inherited something from a nobleman?

"I'm afraid that isn't my story to tell, Monsieur Overland," she said with a sad expression. Before he could protest about calling him by title, Marie stopped in front of a large white door guarded by two men dressed in uniform.

"Ah! Here we are," the woman smiled. "The lady and her guest await you inside, Monsieur."

Jack rolled his eyes and mumbled, "It's Jack," before pushing the door open and stepping inside, unaware that the guards and the maid were giving him shocked looks. No one ever dared to waltz into a room with the lady inside without knocking or asking for permission first like that!

It was a parlor, Jack noticed. Like the other rooms, this one was decorated ornately and beautifully organised, with sophisticatedly designed fireplace and elegant furniture. He noticed two females seated in the lounges in the middle of the room, conversing with each other. The first one was Elsa, still looking the same as when she left him. The second woman, however, he didn't recognise. She looked older and more mature than Elsa. Although she wasn't divinely beautiful like the blonde woman next to her, she possessed a very graceful and… full beauty, with flowing black hair that reached past her waist, sun-kissed skin and bright hazel eyes. She wore a black dress with fur trimming that complimented her form. Her features, unlike Elsa, wasn't sharp but soft; her face was round, cheeks rosy and full of life and energy. And her eyes seemed to smile at him.

"Ah! Welcome, Jack," the woman spoke to him in a warm, gentle voice. "We have been expecting you."

Elsa casually sipped her wine, her eyes still holding the same coldness when looking at him. "I hope you didn't cause any trouble to Marie," she scowled at him.

"Now, now, Elsa," the woman with black hair said, placing her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Don't be so rude to your guest like that." She turned to Jack with a bright smile. "Please forgive her. She isn't very used to having visitors, as far as I know. Please take a seat and help yourself with tea and biscuits. Or, if you'd like, we can always get you some wine from the cellar."

"Last time I checked, I'm the host here," Elsa grumbled.

Jack didn't hear her and took a seat opposite to them. "Thanks, but no alcohol for me, please."

The black-haired woman continued to study him with a grin on her face. "So I've finally got to meet the famous Jack Frost. You look just like how I remember, my boy! But then again, it's not a surprise at all for an immortal like you, hm?"

"Not an immortal anymore," Elsa said. "For now, he's like us humans, but only temporary."

"How? Oh, right. I get it. Poison from Pitch's demon wolves. So it seems that our winter spirit will have three days off for the first time in forever!" she smiled warmly, with a hint of playfulness in her eyes.

"Wait, you know who I am?" Jack asked.

Elsa laughed. "Of course she does, Frost. She's the one who has bestowed the power to control the winter weather on you."

"What do you mean?"

The black haired woman laughed. "Oh, my dear boy. I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? My name is Emily Jane. _Princess_ Emily Jane of Caelum, to be exact. Second in line for the throne, after Elsa here. I am known by many names, but on Earth, I am most widely known as Mother Nature."

* * *

"… I am most widely known as Mother Nature."

Jack's jaw dropped. "Shut up."

Emily chuckled. "I understand this must be very shocking for you to discover this information, although I'm surprised your fellow guardians haven't told you about me at all, given that I was the one who brought you to life and that the guardians and I have interacted several times before in the past."

"Well, they never told me about you or Elsa. Wait, did you say princess? And second in line? You two are related?" Jack grabbed a biscuit and took a bite.

"Yes," Elsa said. "She's my niece."

He spit out the biscuit. "Niece?!"

Elsa rolled her eyes. "My brother's daughter, you idiot."

"Pitch has a daughter?" Jack's eyes went even wider.

"Oh don't get started."

That actually made sense. No wonder she looked slightly familiar.

"Father doesn't talk much about me, does he?" Emily Jane chuckled, taking a sip of her wine. "Well, he changed after my mother died and I went missing. And I can't blame him for hating me, either. After all, I haven't been a good daughter to him at all. We haven't spoken or seen each other in five hundred years."

"Wow. And, uh, sorry about your mother by the way."

"It's alright. That was over a thousand years and a half ago."

"That means you're older than her," Jack pointed at Elsa.

"Complicated, isn't it? But despite the fact that she's more than a thousand years younger, my aunt still holds more power."

"But if you're Pitch's daughter, shouldn't you be the heir apparent?"

"Oh, the law in Caelum is a little bit different from Earth, I'm afraid. If the eldest cannot ascend the throne, then the rights would go to the younger sibling, not his or her offspring. I was only the crown princess when Elsa had not yet been born. The title was given to her after her birth. Not that I mind. I was a long lost princess for centuries before Grandpappa found me again. And I already have a family on Earth by then, so the throne wasn't my interest."

"Same thing happened to you?" Jack glanced at Elsa.

"Hardly, and probably more tragic," she smirked, bringing her glass to her lips but didn't take a sip, instead staring at the rich crimson liquid. "I was banished from my own home." Seeing his shocked and confused expression, she chuckled, leaning back against the lounge casually and continued. "Let's just say that I wasn't a very good daughter and a proper leader. I acted without thinking and I had to pay for my mistake. It was almost two hundred years ago." The blonde woman took a long swig and finished her glass.

"Your sentence was only for ten years," Emily said. "But you stayed, for the very same reason as mine."

"But then again I really didn't just stay in one place and be one person for that very same reason now did I?"

Emily Jane nodded and she, too, finished her glass, though in a more elegant way than her aunt.

"Alright, let's get onto business here," she declared. "Although I wished I did, I didn't come halfway around the world here just for pleasure. We seem to have an issue here." She placed the glass back on the coffee table. "So, it seems that Father has been giving you trouble?"

Elsa snorted. "To put it lightly, yes. Darkness has begun seeping around this planet. Pitch has already started. He's stronger this time and I doubt I can stand a chance against him."

"That's why, my dear Elsa, you need the guardians' assistance."

"Emily, you are my niece and my best friend ever since I was barely a toddler, you know that I of all people loathe those scums more than anything, especially this snow bastard in front of us."

"Hey! I can hear you, you know that?"

She ignored him and proceeded. "Anyway, Pitch is currently after Gladius Luna."

"She's unbelievable!" Jack threw his arms up in defeat.

"The Sword of Moon? Elsa, I thought it was meant for you." Emily raised her brows in surprise.

"No, Emily Jane. I may have been named the heir, but Pitch was _born_ as heir apparent. Your father was the one who was meant to take the throne, not me."

"Sometimes words, papers and decrees don't speak everything."

"Yes, they do, especially ones of a king. Now, back onto the subject. Gladius Luna was hidden by your grandfather, and it was said to have been hidden here, on Earth. However, no one knows for sure. There is only one way to know its location, and that is to travel to the Cave of Wonders."

"There is no such place as the Cave of Wonders in this planet!" Emily Jane frowned. "I am the Mother Nature, I would know that."

"That's the problem. I've been searching everywhere, but there is no record. I even asked Ansgar, but he said he couldn't find anything in the Golden Library."

"Wait," Jack spoke up. "What if the Cave of Wonders isn't exactly a cave?"

"Good thinking, Jack. Maybe it's just a metaphor. But if the Cave of Wonders isn't a cave, then what is it?"

"It's a library," Elsa whispered. _"To find the key to the Cave of Wonders, you must find enter the heart of the child of winter."_

"Wait, so we have to find the key to that place, too?" Jack asked. "And, the heart of the child of winter? Come on! Why do you… _Moonians_ love metaphors so much? Why not just spit it out already?"

"Moonians?" Both women looked at each other confusedly.

"Yeah, you're from the Moon, aren't you?"

"We're Caellians, smarty pants," Elsa deadpanned.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! So what is 'child of winter'? Don't tell me it's a person!"

Elsa rolled her eyes. "It's not a person, Frost. It's a city – a lost city, to be exact."

"Lost city?"

"Vinterhjertet – meaning the heart of winter in Norwegian, the citadel of a kingdom named Arendelle, also widely known as the Land of Eternal Winter," Emily Jane interjected. "Arendelle used to be a small but very famous and prosperous kingdom situated on the coast of Skagerrak to the south of Norway, and Vinterhjertet was the centre of trade in the region at the time. That was until 1838 when an avalance swept through the city and completely destroyed one thousand and one hundred years of history. No one survived that accident, not even the queen."

"One single night and Vinterhjertet became a legend," Elsa smirked.

"But why was it named the heart of winter?" Jack asked.

"Two reasons," she said. "One is because the city was built in a very special location. It was nestled within the mountains, as if they embraced the city, like a mother holding a child. And it was situated just by the fjord, so the sounds of the waves were like lullabies. Also, winter there is very harsh, and it seemed like it was colder than other places during that time, even when it was in the south of Norway."

"The disappearance of Vinterhjertet was actually the inspiration for the story 'The Snow Queen' of Hans Christian Andersen. You must be familiar with the name," Emily smiled. "After that incident, many questions were raised among the people. There were even rumours that the land was cursed by an evil ice witch. Some even said that the queen herself cursed the land, since the Arendellian queen, much great of a monarch she was, she was quite secluded, so I heard. People even called her cold-hearted just because she wasn't very sociable."

"That rumour is completely untrue!" Elsa protested, fuming with anger. "Queen Anja was reserved, true, but she was one of the most kind and warm-hearted person I know – God bless her poor soul! Her death, along with the death of Princess Eydís, her daughter, and the people in Vinterhjertet, was a great loss to Arendelle and Norway. I couldn't say the same about King Johannes, though. He seemed like an asshole to me. Well, the guy was quite a decent man, but we don't really get along well because he believes that women shouldn't be open-minded or 'engage in activities that are meant for men only', meaning that a woman like me shouldn't learn how to become a warrior. Aside from that, he was alright. Hans was a good husband and a loving father to little Eydís."

"You knew the royalties of Arendelle?" Jack asked.

"I was the grand duchess of Norway at the time. I regularly went on diplomatic trips to Arendelle, partly because I absolutely _adored_ its young queen and little princess. Eydís was a joy! She took after her father in looks but she truly was her mother's daughter!" A bright smile stretched across her lips. Jack noticed that it was the truest smile he had seen on her.

"Grand duchess?" he questioned.

"Long story. Maybe for another time." Her expression suddenly fell, and a shadow overcast her eyes.

Jack looked at Emily Jane, but she merely shrugged. "Not my story to tell, I'm sorry."

"You know," Elsa said. "They made a movie based on the idea of Andersen, and a portrait they recovered from that city. It was a portrait of me and Anja. She had her painters make two of them – I still keep the copy in my gallery. It was quite damged, actually, and the words written on it were almost gone, only leaving my name and her name, but missing the 'j'. So they made us sister, with me being the older one, and Hans suddenly became a villain. I suppose they mistook him with his younger brother Christian. That guy, I tell you, was a swine! Even though he was married, he never stopped trying to have his way with me."

Emily laughed, and Jack found himself sniggering quietly. "Yeah, I remember you complaining about that three or four times when I visited you here," the black haired woman said. "I think it was quite hilarious."

"Oh, you'll find out how hilarious it is to constantly have a complete asshole whom you loathe with _every fibre_ of you lingering his disgusting eyes on private parts of your body, my dear niece!"

Jack chuckled. "I wonder why the didn't." That earned him a snowball to the face and a deadly glare from her, but he swore that he saw her lips lifting up in a smile briefly.

"Ass," she mumbled.

Emily Jane, who had been laughing hysterically, managed to calm herself down and wiped away her tears. "Oh my God, poor you!" she uttered between giggles.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh away, you two. Laugh on my misery," she rolled her eyes then mumbled, "Unbelievable."

"So," Emily finally said. "You're going to Vinterhjertet?"

"You're not coming?" Jack asked.

"Fortunately, she won't," Elsa said. "It would be only the two of us."

"Getting rid of me already, Elsa?"

"Emily, this isn't your quest. I cannot endanger you."

"Endanger me! Elsa, let me remind you that I am an immortal, while you here is a half-immortal and Jack here is now a mortal. And I doubt he can do much help as he doesn't have much experience as you. I should come. Besides, this is about my father, after all."

"I'll think abou it."

"Great! It's decided then!" Emily grinned.

"What? I didn't agree on anything."

"Your eyes are evident enough. So what time do the three of us start?"

"Hold on a second," Jack cut her off and turned to Elsa. "Do the others know of my location? And do they even know that you took me here?"

"No," she smirked slightly.

"What? I have to tell them! They'd be worried sick, especially Tooth!" he exclaimed. It was true. Tooth was like a mother to him and everyone, and she had the tendency to be overprotective over people.

"It's alright. I can inform them of your whereabouts if you'd like. After all, it's been quite a long time since I last visited North Pole," Emily reassured.

A knock on the door interrupted them and a wiry middle-aged man with a bald head and mustache walked in, bowing to them.

"My ladies, Master Overland, dinner is served," he informed.

"Oh, wonderful!" Emily beamed brightly and stood. "And so good to see you again, Bernhard! I haven't seen you for… ten, fifteen years? Since the time you and Elsa were still in Sweden, right?"

"Indeed, Lady Emily Jane," Bernhard smiled and shook her hand. "I think it was about eighteen years ago or so."

"Oh my! Has it been that long?! Well, time flies!" the black haired woman said cheerfully. Bernhard merely chuckled at her, while Elsa rolled her eyes playfully. Nearly two thousand years old and Emily Jane was still like a child sometimes. But then again, children are always full of life, energy and joy, and isn't nature?

"Ladies, gentleman, I believe it's time to dine, and we don't want the food to cool off, now do we?" Bernhard said.

"Oh, quit with the formalities already, Bern! We're all friends, aren't we?" Emily grinned brightly. "And, uh, will we get to have waffles?"

"I thought waffles are for breakfast," Jack raised his eyebrows.

"Not to Emily Jane, and not to Marie's waffles, it would seem," Elsa mumbled. She sighed and rose from her seat. "You both enjoy dinner. Bernhard, please show my niece her room, and keep an eye on this moron for me."

"Wait, you won't join us?" Emily asked. "Oh, come on, Elsa! We haven't seen each other for twenty years and now you're not going to have dinner with me?"

"Emily…"

"Oh, don't worry! It'll be fun! Now come on! I'm starving!"

"I guess nothing can change her mind," Jack said, glancing at Elsa. She only rolled her eyes.

"This is going to be fun indeed."

* * *

A/N: That's all I could think of, sorry! It sucks, I know! But this is the first time I work alone. And English is my second language so forgive me for any mistake.

Anyway, see you next time! Remember to leave a review, too!

Tempest is out!


	10. Chapter Nine: Echoes of the Past

A/N: A little bonding time between Elsa and Emily, and a glimpse into their past and also personality. A little short, yeah, I know, but I hope it's good enough for you folks. Also, I wrote a new ending. You guys should give it a look.

About the next update, Gale (Tempest's brother) and I will try to post it as soon as possible. Tempest is currently grounded and won't be able to continue writing until two weeks later.

\- Storm

* * *

"For the last time, I will _not_ go back to the Pole!"

Jack rolled his eyes and heaved an exasperated sigh as he listened to the two women arguing with each other over who should go where and who should do what. How long had the two been like this? Jack didn't even remember; he'd probably lost track of time at some point. He just knew that they had been down here in this underground secret meeting room for a while, yet Elsa and Emily still couldn't reach an agreement.

Dinner that night had been rather… tense. He scarcely said a word – Emily did most of the talking – and tried to focus in his food, though he recalled almost throwing up once or twice when they served him lutefisk. Elsa, however, was silent throughout the meal. She seemed to be mulling over something in her mind. The girl looked troubled. So Jack decided it was best not to ask. After that, Elsa had taken them here. She had used her power to transport them into this secret meeting room. Apparently, she didn't want anyone to know how to sneak into this 'sanctuary' of hers and wouldn't trust anyone with her secrets, not even Emily.

It was an underground hideout that was a shelter-pit built during the First World War converted into a secret lair with an almost impregnable security system and equipped with the most advanced technology. Jack noticed that there was even a training room, with all kinds of weapons ranging from the traditional swords or daggers to machine guns; a laboratory through the glass wall of which he could see chemicals and bottles lining up in several cupboards against the wall, a few scrolls of blueprints on the table in the center of the room, and some kinds of robots and machinery he'd never seen before… Jack nearly died when he saw all of those – even Emily was beyond astonished – it was amazing.

That was at first, anyway. Once they were secured in this small meeting chamber, Jack was cast aside and left forgotten in the corner of the room while the two women discussed, then debated and argued over something in various languages. First, they spoke in English – he listened as they talked about the lost city of Arendelle, now a port city in the south of Norway, and something about the Sword of Moon, the Luna Kingdom. Then, they changed into French – apparently that was where Emily was shipped off to when she was a child, from what he could vaguely make of their conversation; his French stank. After that? Gods knew what kind of language they were using.

And now, they were back to English again, which Jack was quite grateful for. At least he would know what was going on around him.

"Sometimes you act like a child, you know that?" Emily scolded the younger woman.

"I _am_ a child still," Elsa deadpanned. She had a point in that, Jack thought. Despite her age of nearly three hundred years, Elsa looked barely sixteen. And from what little he'd learned about the people and her family back in her home land, three hundred years was nothing to them. Hell, Emily was nearly a millennium old, and she was still considered as young!

Emily groaned and rubbed her temples with the tips of her fingers. "I don't have the time to argue with you over such ridiculous things or pit my wits with you right now. You – both of you," she looked in Jack's direction, "need to get back to the Pole and tell the others what's going on, what Pitch is up to, and what your next move ought to be. Grandfather has instructed you to _work together_, meaning you, Jack and the other guardians will work as a team, whether you like it or not. This isn't a mere joke, for God's sakes. Stop being so stubborn!"

"I _know_ that the king has ordered me to assist the guardians in this mission and let them assist me in return, but having this man trailing after me is enough of a burden. I won't have four others slowing me down! Although I can tolerate Sandy – he can make a pleasant companion and can take care of himself."

"You overestimate yourself sometimes, Elsa. Pride will be your downfall. Look, your father-"

"The _king_," Elsa snarled.

"Your _father_ will let you handle this alone if he knows you can. He trusts you more than anyone else – why do you think he came to you? – but he is a father first and a king second, and he can't bear to see you harmed."

Elsa turned her back to Emily, mumbling, "I have not needed a family for a while. What makes you think – what makes _he_ think I need one now?" Then, before Emily could come up with a reply, she continued with a sigh, "Fine, I'll go back to the Pole. And I will try my best to work with the guardians. But I'm only doing it because of you."

Emily knew better than that. Elsa would never do this simply just for her – they'd been close, yes, but not that close, not as much as she had been to her father. But she was glad that her aunt finally came around. "Thank you, Elsa," she cracked a small smile.

"Save your thanks for later. Now, how do we get to the Pole? I cannot transport Jack and myself to the northernmost of the world. I still haven't fully recovered my powers from the trip from Burgess." Jack felt a pang of guilt when he heard her say that. He knew it had worn her out to carry him all the way across the Atlantic Ocean and the Norwegian Sea in order to help him.

"Right," Emily said. "My winds are strong, but they can't carry more than one. Most of my power of wind now lies in Jack."

An idea suddenly hit him. "Maybe I can take the three of us there."

"Three? Oh, no, Jack. I'm sorry but I'm afraid I won't be joining you in this quest – I have other matters to attend to at hand," Emily said sadly. "Although that is a great idea. And with only one extra person, you will get to the North Pole easily within no time."

Elsa paled a little, but she agreed with Jack's idea, though quite reluctantly. "Fine. We'll leave at dawn," she declared.

* * *

"Jack's not so bad, you know. At least from what North told me last time I visited his workshop." Daintily, Emily crossed her right leg over her right one and gingerly lifted the glass of wine to her lips, sighing as she felt the warm liquor coat her tongue before it was swallowed down her throat, filling her chest and abdomen with a tingling warmth.

Elsa looked at the black-haired woman incredulously. "From what North told you?" They were in her quarters now. Elsa's bedchambers were located in the south wing of the castle, at the top of the highest tower, overlooking the fjords and the forest below. It was always cold in this area, the wind never stopped howling and screaming and the ground was scarcely left without any snow, but her chambers were always filled with a comforting warmness from the fires in her hearth. There was no need for central heating or even electricity here or in the castle, the traditional methods were enough, (of course save for her secret underground hideout); besides, the cold never really bothered her.

Tonight, however, there was no fire in her chambers, and she had opened every window, allowing the bright moonlight to come into the room and letting the soft caress of the crisp winter wind grace her skin. Elsa preferred the warm of the golden sun to the cold, lonely nights of winter, but the beauty of this evening was irresistible. The sky was glittered with bright, tiny stars, and the faint hint of the clouds seemed to glow silver in the moonlight. Suddenly, it reminded her of home – her _real_ home, one she had left behind.

"You still don't trust him?" Emily asked, pulling her back to reality. "Or you won't?"

"Both," Elsa answered honestly. She knew better than to lie to Emily – the woman knew her like the back of her own hand – and besides, what did she have to hide anyway? Exhaling deeply, Elsa sipped her wine. She had never been one for alcohol, but at this moment, it was soothing. "I don't think I'll be able to trust any of them at all after what they did to me." The memories of nearly three hundred years ago rushed back to her, and she felt the terror and grief gripping her heart tightly.

Emily shook her head gravely. "You are an intelligent woman, Elsa, but you are also a blind, foolish girl. You have let your anger and hatred cloud your mind. North has changed, and so have Bunny and Tooth. They're no longer the people you think they are."

"You expect me to just forget and forgive them for what they've done?"

"No, I don't ask you to forget, nor do I ask you to forgive – that is for you to decide. But I implore you to look past their sins and see them as your partners, if not friends."

"It's going to be a very difficult task for me."

"Difficult, yes, but not impossible."

Elsa had to resist the urge to roll her eyes, although Emily did have some point in there. "Enough of this, we've talked enough about me; you are family and we haven't met for years. Tell me, how have you been doing?"

"Same old, same old. Earth is becoming more and more boring and dull to me. Unless they do something about the black that is plaguing this planet, I fear I have to flee to Caelum or even to Mars." Elsa knew that Emily was complaining about the pollution that was increasing rapidly on earth again. Humans had taken on some countermeasures in order to somehow suppress it, but they had only done so little and caused so much trouble.

"Is there anything you can do about it?" Elsa asked.

"My dear Elsa, I can help nature grow if men destroy it, but I cannot cleanse it if it's tainted," Emily replied. She rarely called Elsa aunt – the word sounded awkward and foreign to her tongue, and Elsa felt the same, so they had always been on the first name basis. "I fear that men will have to handle this issue themselves. I cannot help them in this part." She sipped her wine again. "Maybe Mars is a good choice – I should start packing. Last time when I came to Caelum, I met the prince of Mars and he offered me quite a tempting invitation to be his – how did he put it? – mate, soul and body."

Elsa stared at her for a while, then she started chuckling, and her chuckles quickly turned into laughter. Before she knew it, the blonde woman was doubling over and laughing hysterically, Emily soon joining her.

"Stars, he _proposed_ to you?" Elsa managed to choke out.

"If you can call it propose!" Emily sniggered.

"Wait, but isn't Linus a little old for you?"

"You've been on Earth for too long, Little Sparks. He's hardly much older than me, only two hundred years or so my senior."

"Oh, right. I forgot. I've heard about Prince Linus from his cousin, Archduke Aelius, and women in the court gossip about him and his brothers. They say he's a fine man, but I highly doubt that. Men of Mars are mostly brutal savages who enjoy killing people far more than making them."

Emily nearly choked on her wine. "I see that you still have some sass in you, Lunanoff."

"As do you, Pitchiner." Both women laughed softly with each other. Elsa leaned against the armrest of the divan and lifted her legs from the woven carpet, tucking them beneath her. She was usually very strict about manners and etiquette, but tonight there was no need for courtesies.

"So where do you work now? Do you still work?"

"Yes. I'm working as a veterinarian in a farm in south Australia."

"Not in France anymore?"

"No, not in France anymore. One hundred and thirty-eight years is enough for me to travel to every corner of that country for several dozen times or even more, although I really love it. _Et vous_?"

Elsa felt the corner of her lips lifting in a smirk. "I'm studying in the University of Connecticut."

"Connecticut? Isn't this the tenth university you've attended already?" Emily raised her eyebrows, although she didn't seem so shocked about that information. She knew how much of a thirst Elsa had for knowledge and studying. "Last time we met, you were a CIA agent. Agent Black, I recall. You took my father's name. So what made you drop out of it? You were one of their top agents."

"Let's just say that I lost my appetite for that cake. Besides, continuing would only mean I have to stand against your father more than once. You know how much I love my family," Elsa said in a flat voice, her eyes deprived of all emotions. Emily had no idea whether she was being sarcastic or honest, and she couldn't decide if it was mockery instead in her tone.

"Frankly to say, Elsa, I had thought you would marry the one who was your best friend back in Philadelphia. You did love him."

"Maybe. Maybe it was only an infatuation," Elsa said, fidgeting with her now empty glass.

"El, you two had known each other for, what, ten years?"

"Eight. And I'd known him about four years before that when he was still my student."

"Exactly. So what happened? Between you and, uh… what was his name again?"

"Harry. Harry Bennett."

"Yeah, so what happened?"

"I left. I… I was scared, I think. I didn't know what to do. He was a friend of mine and I never thought of seeing him as more than just a friend. I never wanted to… get attached to any man after… you know."

"But that was nearly two hundred years ago!"

"The first touch of love a thousand years cannot fade *," Elsa stated quietly.

"Well, you'll have to let go of your past sometimes, Elsa," Emily said.

"Perhaps. But that doesn't mean I can forget."

Emily only nodded mutely. The black haired woman absent-mindedly gazed out one of the windows, her amber eyes glued to the alluring glowing light that was the moon on the sky. It was though if that round, ivory orb was whispering something, something quiet and distant, yet intense and haunting... like the echoes of the past.

* * *

Somewhere else, in a penthouse in Copenhagen, Denmark…

The sound of the windows clicking open and the rustle of curtains woke him up from his deep slumber. Outside it was pitch black, and the winds were snapping violently. Somehow it made his skin crawl and his heart beat fast. The man had a feeling that something was coming, and there wouldn't be anything good about it.

Still groggy, he walked over to the window and closed the shutters then whirled around to make his way back to bed… but suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, as he saw a familiar shadow of a man standing in the middle of his room, grinning wickedly at him.

"Hello, old friend," the shadow said.

"What do you want, _Black_?" he spat, though his heart was gripped with fear.

Black's eyes smiled at him through the darkness. "Can't I just simply visit an old friend of mine whom I haven't seen in years? Hmm, you look different, my friend. I've seen you in your better days before."

"Unlike you, Black, I like most people age with time."

"Yes, pathetic little creatures you are. Say, old friend, do you still remember my sister?"

The man felt his heart skip a beat and the colours draining from his face. "No," he said curtly.

"Oh, but you do," Black smirked at him, taking another step closer. "You still want the girl? Oh, I know you do. And I can assure you that you'll have her. As long as you agree to help me."

* * *

(*) Derived from two lines of a Vietnamese poem: Cái thuở ban đầu lưu luyến ấy/ Ngàn năm chưa dễ đã ai quên - Thế Lữ, _Lời than thở của nàng mỹ thuật_. Meaning even when a thousand years had passed, one could hardly forget their first love.

* * *

A/N: That's it for now, folks. Hope you enjoyed it. Expect another update within a week's time. And remember to check out Storm's story, The Tides of Time, too. Ciaos - Gale.


	11. Chapter Ten: The Adventure Begins

A/N: Ah, it's been far too long. Hey guys, Tempest here. We had a day-off today, so I used every time I could spare to write this down. And I finished it only seconds before a new day begins. As for why I was absent for so long, well, y'know, school work and stuff. It got in the way. I reaped some great results last semester, but it's nothing compared to Storm. She kinda made her name here. Everyone in the district knows her now. Three times winning the first prize in three English contests of the District! I won a second prize in Literature, but I'm content with it.

Anyway, anyone missed me? No? Well, I'm sure you missed this story. Just so you know, I combined the last chap with the new one (half of the new one). I can't promise that the next chap will be updated soon, but I'll try my best.

Tempest out! Enjoy the story. And REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

* * *

A sunbeam landed on Elsa's face and gently pried her eyes open. Elsa looked around and saw that she was curled up on the couch with her head in Emily's lap. A small smile graced her lips as she looked up at the sleeping black-haired woman; sweet memories of her childhood came back to her. It had been ages since they'd done this. When she was little, the two of them would spend endless hours over talks and games of chess and books or counting stars and creating their own stories and fantasies, then sometimes they would end up falling asleep in each other's arms. Emily had stopped aging long before Elsa was born, sometimes she was like a mother she could never have, but most of the time she was her friend, and it felt as if she was no older than her. They had never acted like aunt and niece before, except at court, rather friends, sisters, or in rare occasions even mother and daughter. With Emily, she always felt like a child, small and fragile and needed a shoulder to lean on.

"Hey, little sparks," Emily's soft voice caressed her ears as she felt her gentle hands caress her hair. Then she glanced at the clock and realised that it was just past two in the morning. "It's a bit too early but… good morning."

_Good morning indeed_, Elsa thought bitterly.

"I don't want you to go," Elsa murmured, trying to hold back her tears. She didn't want morning to come, and she didn't want Emily to leave, to go back to Caelum. She wished Emily could stay, so that they could talk more, share more, so that she wouldn't have to feel alone again, so that she could have someone to depend on. She wished she could be a child once more now; she wouldn't have to worry about anything, she could be free to do as she willed, free from the grieves and sorrows of her past, free from the burdens she had to carry, and free from reality.

"We'll see each other again soon enough."

"I still don't want you to go. I wish you could stay."

"It's not that simple – you know it. Nothing is ever simple, little sparks."

"I'm not little sparks anymore, I haven't been for nigh on a hundred years, and I don't think I can be now, though I wish I could," she said, a frown creasing her forehead. Slowly, she pushed herself upright so that she was at the same level with Emily. "Do you have to go?"

"I'm afraid I do, El. I'm sorry."

Elsa sighed. "Fine. Have a safe trip, then. And say hello to Ansgar for me."

"Okay. And I'll inform grandfather of the updates on the situation down here, though I suspect that's quite unecessary."

"He watches us, but that doesn't mean he sees us. Watching and seeing are different things, so are knowing and understanding." The grown woman had returned now, and the child would have to be forgotten, at least just for a while.

"Wouldn't you want to leave a message for him?"

"Just tell him that I'll get this out of the way as soon as possible," she said coldly.

Emily sighed. "Alright, then. As you say." After placing a soft kiss on Elsa's forehead, she rose from the couch and walked over to the open balcony. "Goodbye, Elsa."

"No," Elsa shook her head. "See you soon."

Emily smiled. "See you soon." With that, she disappeared into the wind. Elsa sprinted towards the balcony and looked up at the sky above her. "May the four winds be with you," she whispered.

* * *

The journey to North Pole was a hard one.

With Jack being a human, Elsa couldn't risk giving him back his staff – the power was far too great for the fragile human body to withstand – and getting him killed in the process. Much as she misliked the guy, she still needed him. So, despite the fact that she had not yet fully recovered from their last trip, Elsa had taken it upon herself to teleport both of them to the Arctic. Fortunately, they had landed in North's Workshop safe and sound, albeit with a little difficulty. Elsa could feel every muscle in her body throbbing with pain and screaming in protest every time she made a move. An extra person could be a great problem. Jack, on the other hand, was giddy like a little boy in a candy shop, and was utterly amazed – he even asked to do it again! However, much to his dismay, she had promptly refused (or more like angrily snapped at him).

Immediately after they arrived, Jack was swarmed by other guardians – who had no doubt assembled at Emily's call – and elves and yettis that were North's assistants. Elsa leaned against a column in the workshop, watching the scene with a sad, wistful smile, feeling slightly out of breath, and profoundly out of place.

North was the first to greet him. The troll of a man lifted the wiry boy in his arms as if he weighed nothing and almost crushed him in a bear hug. The poor winter spirit was barely able to stand still or breathe properly when he was released, and no sooner had he gained his bearings than he was once again enveloped in a powerful hug, this time by the Tooth Fairy, which almost caused him to topple over and fall flat on his arse.

After that, the winged woman – oversized humingbird, as Elsa often teased her – started chiding Jack for making her worried sick and bombarding him with questions. The Easter Bunny was wearing an amused smirk on his mouth. If he was happy about Jack's return, he didn't show. No one noticed the change in Jack's appearance, none except the Sandman – sharp as ever, Elsa mused quietly, with a fond smile tugging at her lips. It took him a few minutes, but he eventually managed to point it out to everyone else, who all gasped in shock when the plain truth finally struck them.

'What happened to your hair, your eyes?! Why are you like this?' Tooth asked, eyes wide in shock as she stared at Jack in disbelief. His hair had turned into a chocolate brown where it had once been white as snow, and his deep azure eyes were now the same colour of his hair. His skin was no longer a pale white colour as it was before, but tanned, and his cheeks had gained a hint of pink, a result of the warm blood now rushing in his veins.

Tooth shot Elsa an angry look, but Jack reassured her that it wasn't her fault, and explained everything. The fairy relaxed, though she was still a bit unconvinced.

'So you're a human now, eh?' Bunny asked, speaking the first time ever since the two of them arrived.

'Yup,' Jack gave him a lopsided grin. 'It feels a little weird, but I'll manage.'

'Alright,' Elsa straightened herself and approached them. 'I hate to break in on your moment, but we have some serious matters to address. Pitch has already made his move. We're now a step behind. We won't be able to stop him unless we speed up.'

'Ah yes, Emily Jane has already sent the message,' North nodded. 'But, Arendelle, you say? The lost kingdom?'

'No more. They have rebuilt the city. It is called Arendal now.'

'Yes, we all know that. But why Arendal? Your own mother, the Queen, hailed from Arendal. Will it not be the first place our enemies would search?'

'Yes, but our enemies would also think that Arendelle is too obvious, for they know my father is too clever a man to hide his treasure there. It is a risk, aye, but so far no one has escaped the trap.'

'So where should we look in Arendal?' Tooth enquired. 'Where the lost kingdom was?'

'The only thing that remains of the old kingdom is the castle ground, and that is not where we're heading for. There are secret passages hidden within the castle, and hidden chambers that hold the secrets of the royal families in history, but _Gladius Luna_ can't be there.'

'Then where is it?' asked Bunny.

'Where neither the sun nor the moon can reach it, far from the reach of both humans, silvermen and dark forces, but still within our reach.' Her lips parted in a toothy grin. 'Underground.'

* * *

'These are your chambers?' Jack asked as Elsa fumbled for the key. The winter spirit was dressed warmly in a thick dark grey winter coat with fur trimming and a large hood that reached to his mid-thighs. Over his hands were a pair of gloves to keep them warm, and on his back was a bag of supplies and other necessary things Tooth had packed for him. He was not supposed to follow Elsa, but there was nothing else he could do while everyone prepared themselves for their own journey.

'Yes,' she replied, unlocking the heavy wooden door, and with some effort, pushing it open. The door groaned loudly, which wasn't surprising, considering that it had not been opened for over a decade. They both entered.

The smell of wood immediately filled his nostrils as Jack walked into the room. It was pretty much the same as North's quarters, albeit a little smaller and with different decorations. Whilst everything in North's chambers screamed Christmas, this had a more ethereal beauty to it. The ceiling was a black-blue colour, with various stars painted on it, and orbs resembling every planet in the solar system hanging from it. The single bed was small, fit for one person only and placed right where the window was, so that the lights in the sky could kiss the owner of the room to good night and wake them up in the morning. On the other side of the room was a hearth carved from stone – not any ordinary stone, but moonstone – and two armchairs on either head of the small coffee table, on top of which laid a chessboard. There were also countless old books and various ancient scrolls that looked as old as time itself, stuffed on the shelves that covered most of the walls so copiously that there seemed to be no space left for another one. It was only when Jack approached the shelves that he discovered that all books were written in many different ancient tongues, such as Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, Old Norse, and even the Lunar language – at least that was what Elsa told him.

'You love books very much, don't you?' he cocked an eyebrow, watching her through the corner of his eye, amazed at how her face lit up when she looked at the books and scrolls.

'More than very much. I practically grew up in a library,' said Elsa with a wide smile.

'I thought princesses live in castles.'

'Here, yes. But in Caelum, princes and princesses only live in the palace until a certain age. When they're old enough, they are sent to the Celestial Institute to study; it's a school for young royals and nobles in the whole galaxy. I went there when I was five or six, I think. The school is open for anyone now, irrespective of their age, status, race or background, as long as they are good enough. Anyway, there's a huge library there, much larger than any library on Earth. The thing about this library is that there is always enough space for more books, and there are _always_ more books.'

'You speak of it as if you speak of heaven itself.'

'Wherever there are books, it's heaven to me.'

'You come here often?' Jack asked.

'From time to time, I'd come to pay Sandy a visit to have a game of chess or discuss something with him. And of course to mess up with the elves and yetis and their boss a bit,' Elsa said with a wicked grin.

'I didn't know you can be so… naughty.'

'I have my moments.'

'So what are you searching for?' Jack asked, noticing that Elsa'd been looking around as if trying to find something.

'A map. A very old map I came across some years after I came to Earth. I discovered it when I came to Arendelle with my–when I came to Arendelle.' She turned away very quickly and started groping the wall, but he did not miss the flush that crept up her cheeks. 'It's a map that shows every tunnel, every secret chambers of the lair built under the kingdom thousands of years ago, when magic still existed on Earth,' Elsa explained. 'They were constructed by trolls… well, in my theory, that is, because the map was written in the ancient troll language. I brought it here so no one would ever find out. Aha! Found it!'

Elsa pulled out a stone from the wall to reveal a hole dug in it. There was a small key there, which she used to open a chest Jack helped her haul out from under her bed. Inside there were several objects like colourful stones and queer-looking trinkets, a couple of chalices, watches and compasses, hats, knives, pistol holsters, large rings made of ivory, no doubt some stuff Elsa had come across during her travels, but there was no scroll to be seen.

Elsa dug into the chest and found a small box. When she opened it…

'It's a piece of glass,' he deadpanned, giving her an are-you-serious look.

'It's not an _ordinary_ piece of glass!' she retorted. 'It's mooncrystal, which helps you see through things.' To demonstrate it, she handed it to him and commanded him to look at the hearth through the glass. Jack rolled his eyes in irritation but did it anyway.

He placed the piece of glass – mooncrystal – to his eyes (it was no bigger than his palm) and shifted his gaze to the empty hearth.

At first he saw nothing. He blinked and squinted his eyes and let them roam over the hearth. Still nothing. Then he saw it. It was blurry at first, but then the vision soon became clearer, and he could see it, as clear as day. Jack made a beeline for the hearth, where he found an old, worn scroll tucked in a dusty gap behind the hearth. He was coughing dust and brushing spider webs off his hair and clothes by the time he scrambled out, but find it he did.

'Finally,' he said, standing to face her. 'The adventure begins.'


	12. Author's Note

IMPORTANT NOTES!

Guys, it's Tempest here! Okay, nice to see you guys too but unfortunately, this is NOT a chapter. Wait, wait, don't go! Let me say something first –it's really important.

First of all, sorry for the delay. Y'know, school got in the way – same as usual. Good news though – I might get a chapter done next week. But – yes, but – before I write a new chapter, there's something I gotta do first, and that's to edit the story. What? No! I'm not taking this down, no way, and I'm not changing the story, either. It's just that, you do realise that it was originally Storm's story, not mine, right? Well, it's really hard to follow her idea, so I've decided that I'm gonna work on mine instead.

Anyway, if I'm to do it my way, I need to fix the story just a tiny bit. I'll start editing five hours from now. It shouldn't take long. I reckon I'll be done by Sunday. Remember to REREAD the story. If you don't, it'll get VERY confused in the next chapters.

Well, that's it. If you wanna ask anything, feel free to message me. Yes, me, not us. I feel so lonely right now. Storm is too busy to write and Gale is too lazy (though he helps a bit. What a good brother!). Don't worry though. I'll keep myself entertained by writing and reading and listening to music and other stuff.

See you soon!

\- Tempest


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